In Trent Moody's sermon titled 'Chosen by God,' he delves into the rich imagery used in 1 Peter 2:4-10 to describe Jesus Christ as the 'living stone' and 'chief cornerstone'—a title that speaks to His strength, honor, and the foundation of the Church. This metaphor of Christ as the cornerstone is pivotal for believers, who are also described as 'living stones' being constructed into a spiritual house. The sermon discusses how Jesus, though rejected by men, is chosen and precious in the sight of God, highlighting the stark contrast between human rejection and divine selection. Believers are called a 'chosen generation,' a 'royal priesthood,' and a 'holy nation,' tasked with offering spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. Moody stresses the ongoing process of coming to Christ, abiding in Him, and living a life that reflects His preeminence. The sermon addresses the reality that Christ was rejected because He exposed the evil deeds of men, but those who believe in Him will not be put to shame. It concludes by emphasizing the believers' transformation from not being God's people to being His 'special people,' destined to proclaim His praises and live out their faith in the world.

1 Peter chapter 2 beginning with verse 4, reading through verse 10. Thus says the word of the Lord, coming unto him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the scripture, behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect precious and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore to you who believe he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

They stumbled being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who were once not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Let us pray. Gracious Father, we thank you for the Word of God. Glory be to God alone.

Oh Lord you have opened your word for us this morning and I pray God that you would fill our hearts with the glory of Jesus Christ that we might see this chief cornerstone that we might see this one who is holy, who is elect, who is precious in your sight and Lord may he be precious in our sight. Oh God fill us up this morning so that we would know you, that we would love you and that we would bring forth the praises of you who has called us out of darkness and shown us such great mercy. We praise you and we thank you for this word and now Lord lead us we pray in Christ's name. Amen. The title of this message this morning is Chosen by God.

And we see this in this passage of scripture not only in regard to the Lord Jesus Christ himself, but also spoken of regarding his church and his people. That both of these are chosen by God and so in seeing this we see this great work of God to bring about such a beautiful picture for us to understand who God is, who Christ is, and who we are, and what God has created us to be. And so in looking at these things, I want to begin by focusing first and foremost on Christ, God's chosen savior or God's chosen stone, if you would. Sometimes we get lost in that because we're thinking of a stone, but I want you to understand that to this hearer that Peter was writing to, this had great consolation. This had a great and deep meaning for them, and it encouraged them.

So let's look with me this morning. Christ here is called the living stone, coming to him as to a living stone. So this living stone is really a contradiction in terms because what stone is living? So we think of a of this huge stone that was no doubt all over this area. And we think about Christ being described as a living stone.

And that is there to encourage us and to help us and to understand that we have a living Savior. Just as we read earlier and preached earlier in chapter one speaking about our living hope, we now have a living stone which is pointing us to the living Savior Jesus Christ. You see This may seem strange to our Gentile ears, but to the Jews, this title was one that exhibited strength. It is something that spoke of honor and it was ascribed to what in their minds was the temple in Jerusalem. And this temple there, speaking of a living stone and as we'll see shortly about this chief cornerstone, this had great meaning for the hearer.

And it needs to have a great meaning for us as well. Peter is testifying that he is not that rock upon which the church is built, but the testimony of Jesus Christ, that chief cornerstone, is the rock upon which the church is built. He is that living cornerstone of the church and we are but stones of that great structure, that great building that God is building, the church, the church and the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this common language concerning Christ in the Old Testament was understood by the Jews and it was understood by those of the dispersion, those who had been persecuted for their faith and who had dispersed from their homes and they had left and they had an understanding of this significance of Peter's words here was something that would bring comfort and consolation to them even though they were dispersed from the physical temple. And so that is where Peter is bringing us to and bringing his reader to is that there is consolation.

He's pointing out there the fact that even though they were removed from this temple, this building in their mind and in their history of their people, a place of worship, a place of sacrifice, a place of God's presence, that no longer was going to be the case. But Jesus Christ himself is that chief cornerstone. Jesus Christ is building this temple made not with hands, not with the hands of men, but being made and formed and fashioned by the very hand of God, whereas he redeems people and brings them in to this body or to this building. So it's very significant, He uses this term, this living, three different times. It speaks of, as I mentioned earlier, this living hope.

We here as living stones have a living hope and a living savior and that was the consolation. So this no doubt is pointing us to the fact that Christ rose from the dead. We do not serve a dead savior. We do not serve a savior like that rock over the tomb but that stone was rolled away and the living stone came out. Jesus Christ the chief cornerstone and he began to build his church.

He is transitioning here our thinking from a stone temple one that is set in one place at a time to this living temple, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. My brother this morning in our prayer time before the service spoke of our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and those believers who perhaps have died and perhaps have even gone to be with the Lord himself, those brothers and sisters, those who are still remaining on this earth, those are part of this temple of God. That's the beauty of it. It's not just Hope Baptist Church, but it's the church universal. So he says here, coming to him as to a living stone.

This idea of coming to him is the idea of coming and remaining with him, not only in the beginning for our salvation, but continually. It's in a tense of the verb that means it's a continual process. It's like John 15, abiding in the vine. It's this continual process of us coming to Christ as our very livelihood. He is all that we need, is all that we could possibly want, and he is our life source.

He's the living stone. So coming to Christ and this idea of remaining intimate fellowship with him. And so the believer comes to Christ, this living stone, this foundation stone of the church, and we are to remain in him. And so in this metaphorical description, Matthew Henry notes it like this. Description of Jesus Christ, he is called a stone to denote his invincible strength and his everlasting duration and to teach his servants that he is their protection and he is their security.

He is the foundation on which they are built and a rock of offense to all their enemies. He is the living stone, having eternal life in Himself and being the Prince of life to all His people. I want you to view Christ like that description. He is your invincible strength. He is your refuge.

He is the one upon which your whole existence rests if your faith is in him and we'll speak more about that shortly but Christ as it speaks here coming to him as to a living stone notice what he says next rejected indeed by men. Rejected indeed by men. Luke 16, 15 says, and he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knows your heart. For that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." And let me say this, the converse is true as well. That which is highly esteemed by God is an abomination in the sight of natural man.

Men look to Christ and they don't see what God sees. Men look to Christ and they spurn him and they reject him. And this idea of rejection is this idea of an examination has taken place. The Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Jews of this time and even Herod and Pilate have examined him and rejected him as who he said he was. He is the Savior of the world.

He is God in flesh and they examined that because of the deadness of their heart which our brother read in Ephesians chapter 2. Being dead in our set trespasses and sins and being totally removed from fellowship with God, we look to Christ in our natural state and we reject the King of glory. We reject the one whom God says is highly esteemed. We reject the one whom God says is the living stone. We reject the one whom God says is precious and we reject him in our natural state.

We don't consider him highly esteemed. As a natural creature born, I did not see Christ in that way. I was so blind. I was dead in my sins and trespasses and I couldn't see the glory of God. I was so dead.

Without the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart quickening me and giving me eyes to see. That's why Jesus often spoke of that, ye who have ears to hear, let him hear. And we hear that we need to have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand. We need that heart of stone removed and a heart of flesh to be given to us. You see, we may say that Christ is the most precious and honored by God and rejected by men.

Why? John 3.19 tells us this. He says, and this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. That is why he's rejected. That's why the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Jews and all the people around him hated him so much is because he was the light of the world and he came and he's shown his light.

He showed his holiness and his glory before them. He revealed their sin and they hated him. You remember even when he first started his ministry and he went and he opened the scroll and he began to read from Isaiah and he said today is this fulfilled in your hearing and they were ready to throw him off the cliff because he was exposing them exposing their evil deeds that is the natural state of man they hate God now this may seem harsh you think boy I don't remember ever hating God but I want you to know that the testimony of Scripture says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That when you are born you're an enemy of God because you have not honored him as God. You have not seen him as God sees him.

And today I want you to see Christ as God sees Christ. He sees him as the chosen of God. He sees him as precious, which is honored and highly esteemed. Man hates and rejects Christ because of that exposure of their evil heart. And so this word rejection, as I said earlier, has this idea of results of an examination.

And they looked upon him and they did not like what they saw. Jesus did not meet what they thought that he should be and they rejected the King of glory. They examined and they thought he was found wanting. But the fact of the matter is, our problem is, is that we use worldly wisdom, we use our own natural eyes, we try to pass judgment upon God. How often have you done that?

Have you ever read through the scriptures and you come to maybe one of the laws of God and you think, oh boy, that's harsh. I just don't know about that. Who are you to pass judgment upon God? God's word is perfect and right. God's law is perfect and right and just.

You will not be justified by the law, but his law is perfect. It reveals you. And where you hate it, that would be a good point to examine your heart, to see if you're right with God. This, to them, was unacceptable, and therefore they rejected Christ. This was no surprise to God.

For the truth of God was continually rejected by man. Throughout all of the Old Testament, if you think about it, God over and over and over would send his prophets and send his men to preach to them and to teach them and to show them the way and every time they rejected. Jesus himself told the parable, speaking of the landowner who went away and he would send his servants to go and get some of the produce from it and they would beat some and they would run off others and they would kill others. And then finally he sent his son and said, they will respect my son. And they murdered the Lord, the King of glory.

That is how man in his natural state views God. Isaiah 53 says he is despised and rejected by men A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him." We don't look at Christ as God looks at Christ. You know even in my redeemed state I still don't see Christ as God sees Christ. Because I still sin.

Every time I sin, I'm not seeing Christ as God sees Christ. What a glory that we are missing. What beauty, what preciousness that we are not seeing because we do not see as God sees, but we still see as man sees. So often not esteeming Christ as greater as Moses did. He esteemed the reproaches of Christ as greater than the riches of all of Egypt.

So often we spurn Christ for the riches of this world and the pleasures of this world. God have mercy on us. But what man thinks is not the true assessment. It matters very little what we think. What matters is what God thinks.

What matters is what God says about him. And what does God say here? God says that he is but chosen by God and precious. I've hit on this and I don't want to spend too long on it, but I want you to think about it. This living stone was rejected by men, but he was chosen by God.

That which man said no, God said that's my savior of the world. He is the God of the creation. He is the one by which I will receive the most glory. Jesus Christ. Man is so wrapped up and warped in his choice, But what is of real significance is not our choice, it's God's choice.

Jesus Christ, the chosen of God. Jesus Christ, that one whom God would glorify both Christ and himself in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He's chosen by God because God always does what is right and what is best. There was no other plan by which God would receive more glory or else he would have done it. Jesus Christ is the greatest method by which God would be glorified.

Think about it. He takes that which is most holy and most precious. He sends him to this earth to redeem the world. The world rejects him, man hates him, and despises him, and rejects him from their presence. And yet God in his abundant and amazing mercy pours out undeserved grace and favor upon those who crucified and killed the Messiah and saves them and brings them into his people.

Behold what manner of love is this that we should be called the children of God. Do you understand that? The what you have here this morning, if you find Christ as precious, is the point of this, that God took you, a rebellious sinner against him, and through his abundant mercy made you his child and now calls you blessed and chosen a holy nation a royal priesthood what love is this If this does not move your heart, I don't know what will. Think about the glory of his grace. Think about what he has done.

He is chosen by God, highly exalted. Therefore, in Philippians 2, 9-11, therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and those in earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You see Peter spoke of this choice previously in chapter 1 verse 20 he says he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world and he is precious in the sight of God. In the sight of men rejected in the sight of God, he is worth more than anything else. God did not give of his smallness.

God gave of his abundance. He gave his son. He gave himself to save you and to bring you into his family. And this meaning here of the preciousness of Christ is that he holds the position of preeminence. To be highly honored, this is how the Father views Christ.

And this is how he is viewed in the sight of all who love him and have faith in him. To those whom he has seen to be precious, He will be their strong consolation. He's encouraging these believers. Don't worry about the temple in Jerusalem. There is a living stone and you are living stones as he will get us to.

Christ, the chief builder of his church, here the chief builder of this temple of God, we see this, chosen but chosen by God and precious and you also. Think about the tenderness of that. Here the dispersion, you got to keep that constantly in your mind and Peter says Christ is chosen of God he's precious he's glorious and you also what does he say as living stones he relates you and Christ in the same way are being built up a spiritual house. Notice this isn't you're not the contractor on this job. You're not the builder on this job.

This is the work of God through his spirit and through his Son. You also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. He is the chief builder of this temple. You see, continuing on with this metaphor, Peter gives them the blueprint for this spiritual house of which they are the materials. You know there's something very intimate about a house.

When you build a house and it's filled with those that you love. I know and we've remodeled and built houses and things like that before and this you know it's just a shell. It's not a living house but once my family comes in there, that shell becomes a living house. It's kind of like the picture of what Peter is painting for them today. You need to realize that this house is not one built of literal dead stones, but this temple of God is living because I live you shall live also and I'm going to build you up into a living temple I'm going to build you up a spiritual house and I want you to understand that this spiritual house is also a holy priesthood.

What does a priesthood do? The priesthood would offer sacrifices to God. They would come and they would bring their sacrifices and they would offer up the sweet aroma unto the Lord. And now we come in the name of Jesus Christ who is our great sacrifice who is our great high priest and we also are a holy priesthood we offer up spiritual sacrifices unto God I believe the picture is clearly referencing the temple in Jerusalem. You know in Luke 21 Jesus said, then as some spoke of the temple how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations he said these things which you see the day will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down I believe God did that for the very purpose of removing all reliance upon a temple that was built in Jerusalem.

So that in their understanding that was done away with, it was gone, it was diminished to nothing and now as living stones we are built up the temple of God. Sometimes we have to remove those things. You think about Gideon often he is one that sticks in my mind and before the Lord that he would be used of the Lord, the first thing he had to do was tear down your father's idols. He went and he tore those idols down and God used him. And these had to do the same type thing.

Anytime that we hold to something, If you're from a good Baptist denomination, I'm sure you've felt this before about a building. Some people, they hold to their building as if it was the very Holy of Holies. It's just sheet rock. It's just paint and maybe some metal or block and concrete. It's just a building.

But what I'm looking at here this morning are the living stones and the spiritual temple that God is building up to offer up praises to him. You are the temple of God. Don't ever forget that beloved. You are the temple of God and you are joined together to that chief cornerstone. Your whole existence is built upon Christ.

Your whole life. That's what they would do with a cornerstone. I'd mentioned this I think in men's meeting there at the courthouse where I'm from in Virginia. In that courthouse they literally had a cornerstone and upon that stone they wrote out the date in which that building was built and they would set that cornerstone there and upon that corner stone everything else was laid. They would line off of that cornerstone.

It would be it would hold the weight of it and it was straightened by that cornerstone. It was the most important stone set and that's what Jesus Christ is. Your whole existence should be lined up off of Jesus Christ. That's how it should be and all of your weight resting upon him. No weight left upon yourself, no weight left upon your good works or your deeds.

It is all resting upon the Lord Jesus Christ and it is all guided and directed by what he is, that chief cornerstone. You know this reminds us much of speaking about how we are this spiritual house and that we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God. My mind immediately goes to Romans chapter 12 in which Paul says this, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service or act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Present your bodies as living as a living sacrifice and you are a living temple and you were to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.

How? What does he say? Through Jesus Christ. For the sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination to God. But all the sacrifices that we offer through Jesus Christ are acceptable to God.

It's not how you work, it's not how you strive, it's not all the things that you do that make you right with God. It's through Christ that makes all those things acceptable to God. That's how we are made right with God. It's through Jesus Christ. As one brother said, you look at this in verse four, coming to him and now through Jesus Christ, we have the bookends of this little section here and how it speaks about all of it is about Christ.

He's the chief cornerstone, he's the builder and we're his stones that are being knit together with him. It is a beautiful picture that he is painting for us. We have no bloody sacrifice to offer to God but we offer up our bodies as living sacrifices and they are acceptable because of what Christ has done. I want you to look at with me at verses 6 through 8 where I believe what Peter is wanting to do is to establish the certainty of the Scriptures, where he goes back and he's pointing them to what the Old Testament says of what he is now presenting to them to encourage them and to help them to understand. Notice what he says in verse 6, Therefore it is also contained in the scripture.

So in other words, he's pointing them back to what they knew. Remember, he's writing the New Testament at this time. They had the Old Testament scriptures. It is contained in the scriptures, behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious and he, there he is again, he's precious. It says it three times.

He is precious And I don't mean like a little child sitting on your knee. That's precious, but not like this. He is highly esteemed. He is honored above all else. And this is what is described of him, a chief cornerstone, elect or chosen, precious, and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame.

This is the cornerstone upon which we are built. It is the certainty of the scriptures that Peter wants them to understand, not the certainty or their uncertainty of their circumstances. We are so easily swayed by our circumstances, by our emotions, about what's going on in the world, about all of these things and Peter brings them back to a laser focus but look at what the scripture says. Brothers and sisters look at what the scripture says. What does it say?

We have achieved cornerstone. He's chosen by God and he's highly esteemed by God and those who believe on him will by no means be put to shame. You have a sure consolation in Christ. It doesn't matter what's going on in this world. You have a cornerstone.

Jesus Christ the righteous by which you are made right with God and you have boldness to enter into his throne room and you can present your request to him. He is compassionate towards you. You are his child. He's not here to destroy you. He's building you.

He's wanting you to be a more perfect sacrifice in the sense of bringing you into this spiritual house so that you can offer up even more beautiful praises to him through Jesus Christ. You will by no means be put to shame. It is this statement that is in what is called an emphatic future negative. Now in the English language we would call that a double negative in which it would become a positive but in the Greek language that is not the case. It is something that actually adds to the weight of it.

It would be like me saying no not ever will you be put to shame. You will certainly not be put to shame. See, we have to make one a positive and one a negative to bring the weight down on it. But here they would use this future negative in the sense that it would bring such weight that even if there's this hint of uncertainty that you might be put to shame, can I really leave all of the weight upon Christ? Can I really trust Him?

Is He really a living stone? You will certainly not be put to shame in this living stone. You can go through anything. He is the one upon which all of you should rest full trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that one by which you will not be put to shame.

That those who put their trust in him will never be confounded. In a Jewish mindset one is said to be put to shame who suffers a repulse or when some hope that they had did not come to fruition. You know, I think this is probably what they were experiencing when they had in their mind of what the Messiah would be like. And that he didn't meet what they thought in their examination and therefore they were he was rejected by men. But Christ does not disappoint.

He will never disappoint you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He will not deny you. He is waiting on you to come to Him in prayer and seeking His face to live for Him to offer up acceptable sacrifices before Him.

This is the promise for all those who believe on him. And verse 7, therefore to you who believe he is precious. Now can I just stop there for a moment? Do you believe on him? Upon what are you resting your hope and your faith?

Is it Christ alone? Or is it your strength or your health or your wisdom or your money or your jobs or the government upon what are you hoping? Is he highly esteemed? If your hope is in Christ, you will not be put to shame. But if it isn't, then this same living stone that was rejected by men, but yet is precious in the sight of God, will fall upon you and grind you to powder.

To one, he is an aroma of life unto life, and to the other, he is an aroma of death unto death. The same living stone. Which is he to you? Is he precious? Or is he a rock or a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense?

Are you offended at Christ? You see this, I believe at this point, is he precious to you, is the point at which you need to examine your heart to find out, is he precious to me? If he is not precious to you, if he is not highly esteemed in your mind and in your heart. This is probably one of the surest spiritual tests that you could take. If he is not, why not?

He is the most glorious. He is chosen of God and he is highly...if he's highly esteemed in the eyes of God. Should he not then be highly esteemed in your eyes? Are you wiser than God? Do you know more than God?

He's highly esteemed in the eyes of God. He is precious in the eyes of God. And I pray that this morning He is precious in your eyes as well. Verses 7 and 8, we see here that he kind of offers this contrast. He begins it with, therefore to you who believe he is precious but to those who are disobedient.

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone And that's exactly what happened. You find this language, the same language found in Isaiah, you find it in the Psalms, you find it in Ephesians, you find it in Romans. This is a theme throughout all of scripture about Jesus Christ. He is this chief cornerstone. We find this terminology here because God is wanting to get our attention so that we will understand that he should be precious in our sight.

And if he is not, but to those who are disobedient, That stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and he's a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Isn't that what Paul said regarding Christ? He said to the Greek, it is foolishness, the gospel is foolishness, and to the Jew, he's a stumbling block. What is he to you? I mean it's one thing for me to dive into this passage and think hey this is what Peter was saying and this is who he was saying it to but my friends if it does not come right down to you, what is he to you?

Have you stumbled on him? Or have you fallen on him? Trust in him with all your heart. He will not leave you. He will build you up into his own special people.

He will make you a living spiritual temple. But notice that all of this is hinging upon what you believe and what you believe determines what you do. Notice what he says, he says, let's see in verse 7, but to those who are disobedient, he describes this disobedience and really it can be also translated disbelief. Those two things are really hand in hand because if you don't believe it you're not going to do it. So that's why our life is such a picture of what we really believe.

What do you do when you're alone? What do you think about? Because that's really who you are. I went to a grocery line one time back in Virginia and this lady in front of me was talking to the checkout lady and they were talking about some song. I'd never heard the song but I'd heard about it.

And so I had a concept of what it was talking about and I'm probably bad for doing this but I started a conversation And I said, you know, the music that you listen to is really what you believe. No, it's not. I said, yeah, it is. I said, that's why you listen to it, because that's what really speaks to your heart. I don't listen to music that doesn't speak to my heart.

She refused to accept that. But that's true. That which was dear to her heart is what she wanted to fill her ears and mind with. So my question to you is what are you filling your heart and mind with? Are you filling it with the things of Christ?

Are you filling it and seeing that Christ is precious to you through what you hear and through what you see and through what you think and what you do because what you do tells me what you believe and it shows what you believe. He goes on and he says that he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Matthew Henry says here regarding this latter part of verse 8, they stumbled being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed. He says God himself had appointed everlasting destruction to all those who stumble at the word being disobedient. All those who go on resolutely in their infidelity and contempt of the gospel are appointed to eternal destruction, and God from eternity knows who they are.

John Gill goes on and he says, both to stumble at the word of the gospel and at Christ, the sum and substance of it, he being set in the counsel and purpose of God, as for the rising of some, so for the stumbling and falling of others and also to that disobedience and infidelity which was the cause of their stumbling for as there are some whom God appointed and foreordained to believe in Christ on whom he has determined to bestow true faith in him and who have it as it was a pure gift in consequence of such appointment so that there are others whom he is determined to leave in that disobedience and infidelity into which the fall brought and concluded them through which they stumble at Christ and His word and in consequence thereof they justly perish. Those who reject Christ justly perish. God knows who they are. These are hard words. Do you like it or do you reject it?

That ultimately is the question. I want you to think about with me just for a moment Hebrews chapter 11 and if you'll notice that through that faith is described for us he gives us a definition of faith and then he goes on to describe those who had it by faith they did this by faith they did this And he goes right on down the line and he described those who had faith as those who obeyed the Word of the Lord. You don't have faith because you obey God, you obey God because he has given you faith and you believe on him and therefore you live for him. That's what a true Christian does. They trust God and they keep his word.

Isn't that what Jesus said when they said, hey your mothers and brothers are out here, they're looking for you? And he said, who is my mother and my brother and my sister? But those who keep the word of the Lord. That's how we're distinguished as those who keep the word of the Lord, those who love him. And now I want to turn to the second point.

It begins with, Mike mentioned in Ephesians, but God, and then the other one I can't remember, it was but something else, and now we have it again, but you. You see he's described those who reject Christ and now we get to the really really good news, okay. I know this has been a little hard up to this point, but now, but you are a chosen generation. Think about that. A royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people.

That is who you are if you are in Christ. If you've not rejected and stumbled over Christ, this is you. You're a chosen generation just like Christ was the chosen living stone. You are a royal priesthood just like coming in line of the high priest, the great high priest Jesus Christ. And that's what he's telling Peter contrasting here those who were disobedient and unbelieving to those who are obedient and believing.

You see these four descriptions or titles are found throughout the whole testament regarding God's people. He describes the people of Israel this way which really shows me that we are now one in Christ, the church. He describes us in the very same ways. I believe that is because many of his hearers were Jews, most likely in many ways felt separated from their people and they felt separated from their heritage which include the promises and blessings of that nation but it was also made up of Gentiles who were believers in Christ and he says listen just like you read about that I had a chosen people that I had a holy nation that I had a priesthood you are that holy nation you are that chosen generation you are that priesthood think about that you are his own special people That's who I'm looking at this morning. I feel sorry for you.

All you all can do is look at me. I'm getting to looking at God's special people. I have a much better vantage point. You all are the special people of God. You are connected and you're knitted together with Christ.

I'm getting a bigger picture up here. Y'all are God's special people and We need to live like God's special people Caring for one another loving each other and building each other up in the most holy faith. That's what we do. We're God's special people, a chosen generation. Deuteronomy 7 says, for you are a holy people to the Lord your God.

The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people for you were the least of all peoples But because the Lord loves you and because he would keep his oath which he swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt." Boy, How exact of a picture is that of God's people? This choice of God was not based upon anything that they had done or would do. You are God's people because he chose you. He determined to set his love on you.

Where is boasting then? Where is boasting? For what do you have that you have not received? It was not as he told the Israelites, he wanted them to understand it wasn't because you were some great nation, in fact you were small. I just determined to do it.

How that should endear our hearts to our Lord. It wasn't because you were pretty or rich or nice or strong. He just wanted to. He determined that by calling you to be his people he would receive glory. You see God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and the weak things strong.

Aren't you glad to know your group of foolish and weak people that God determined to use to bring him glory. What a glorious picture that is. We are the people of God. We're a royal priesthood also. He says in Exodus 19, 6, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. And so I'm going to speak it today. You are a kingdom of priest and you are a holy nation. Fulfill your ministry. Praise God.

You're a holy nation. Leviticus 20 verse 26 says, you shall be holy to me for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples that you should be mine. You know there's something very interesting about my children. They're a lot like me. They even kind of look like me.

Sometimes they say, you know, I feel sorry for them. They say, you look like your daddy. All moody boys, they look the same. You're bound to be a moody. That's what should be said about us.

You are bound to be a Christian. You look and act like Jesus. That's how we should be distinguished. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one for another. It should be so distinguished.

There shouldn't be a question. I dread the day that somebody comes and says, are you a believer? Boy, I want them to know that the Lord is my Lord, that Jesus is my Savior because one, we should have joy because we are His. We should have love because He first loved us. We should have compassion because he had compassion on us.

We should forgive because we have been forgiven. That is what we should be like. Not only a holy nation and I love this term but his own special people. Isaiah 43 21 says, this people I have formed for myself they shall declare my praise. Malachi 3 17 says, they shall be mine says the Lord of hosts on the day that I make them my jewels and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.

God says that you are his jewels. You are precious to him. You are a special people. Titus too says, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people. And then it continues and says, zealous for good works.

So as God's special people let us be zealous we're not only special but we have made being made special by the work of God and his spirit. He's through his adopting us and calling us to be his own. This phrase special people is really his own possession. A peculiar people. We are his special people because he purchased us through the blood of his son.

That makes you very special. You know I think about the office of eldership and I think about how he describes it there that you will shepherd the flock of God which he has purchased with his blood. And then Peter lays out this great purpose statement for us. You've heard me say it before and I'm going to say it again, this grammatical key, the word that in verse 9. That, here's a purpose, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Who once were not a people but are now the people of God. Who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. That is your purpose statement that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness. You once rejected Christ but now you have been made the children of light. You've been snatched from the kingdom of darkness.

You were in the grip of the devil and the God of this age, but now Jesus Christ, he is constantly foiling the works of the devil. He keeps diminishing his army and he snatches that. He says that one is mine and there is nothing the devil can do about it. You are his special people. Therefore go and praise him.

That is your purpose because you need to remember and it's always good for God's people to remember what we once were, when he says, who were once not a people, but are now the people of God. Who had not obtained mercy, But now have obtained mercy. That's who you are. Remember who you were? And remember who you are God's special people for God's special purpose in bringing praise and honor and glory through our words, through our thoughts, and through our lives.

Let's pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, Oh Lord, I pray that your people have seen Christ exalted. I pray Father that they have experienced how you view Christ. And Lord, I pray that they are experiencing how you view them in Christ, what glories these are. Oh Lord, that you would use such terminology to describe us.

The thought is too wonderful for me, Lord. How you could love us, how you could call us your special people. Oh God, thank you. Lord, you are wondrous. You are glorious.

We praise your holy name and we thank you that you sent your son and you set your love on us that you have made us your own. Oh God, may this thought dwell with us until you take us home. Amen.