Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends on this weekend in January.
As you reflect on the first two full weeks of this new year 2023, I wonder what you’d say have been the 5 most significant events, worldwide, in these past 14 days? What about this question: what have been the three most significant events of the first 2 weeks of 2023 in your personal life? And if these first two weeks are an indication, what do you foresee in the next 50 weeks of ’23?
Through all time, but especially in the recent past, one of the questions people most frequently ask themselves is this: “What is my life purpose”? Of course, our perspective on that question is much different depending on our age, isn’t that true? At 15, that question is much different than at 50 or 75 years of age, right? So, for you, on this second weekend of 2023, what is your answer to that question?
I think that’s a big part of what Peter was thinking about as he was writing his first letter to Christians suffering great persecution in the first century all across the Roman Empire. As we’ve seen in the past two days, this powerful statement from Peter brought great encouragement then and still does today for authentic Christians of any age: “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. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God…” (1 Peter 2:9,10) You hear them, don’t you, my friends? TWO very powerful proclamations! First, a proclamation of IDENTITY and second, a proclamation of PURPOSE.
Do you see them? The God declared IDENTITY part we looked at yesterday: “…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God”. Peter was confident those words would be greatly encouraging to very discouraged Christians living in very difficult times then and down through history to our present day. In my travels, it has brought me great joy to see Christians embrace these God statements of Identity as they live in very difficult situations of poverty, persecution, starvation, and what many would call hopelessness in many parts of our world. Now today let’s grab hold of the God declared PURPOSE for you and me if we are to consider ourselves ‘authentic Christians’: “that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.“ Now watch this carefully: Do you see God says the IDENTITY statements which God wants us to embrace are attributed to us for a reason, a grand PURPOSE. What is the purpose? That our lives are DECLARATIONS! Declarations of what?
First… The life of an authentic Christian should declare the POWER of Jesus! JESUS has rescued us from the suffocating sin bondage that we could not escape no matter our effort or our promises or our payment of anything.
We can live delivered from Satan’s power, because the power of Jesus is much greater and has broken those chains that held us in bondage. That’s why Paul wrote: “It is for freedom that Jesus Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not allow yourselves to be burdened again by a yoke of sin slavery!” (Gal. 5:1)
So an important self-analysis question for all of us is: am I living free, unshackled by the things which the dark kingdom would like to use to imprison me in my sin failure? Is the unlimited power of Jesus declared by my life?
Second… The life of an authentic Christian declares the PRESENCE of God in us! The Holy Spirit lives energetically inside each of us because we are born again by Him! (John 3:3-7)
Our minds are being renewed by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:1,2) as the Holy Spirit reveals God’s life changing truth to us and we internalize God’s truth into our lives! (John 16:13) Our hearts are being cleansed as the Holy Spirit removes every stain of our shameful past. (1 John 1:9) Our character is being refined by the Holy Spirit and our choices, our words, our attitudes should reveal the attributes of God as ‘fruit of the Holy Spirit’ (Gal. 5:16-22) clearly seen in our everyday lives. (Romans 8:5-9)
So again, an important self-analysis question: Are these statements true of my life? Is it evident that my life is declaring the Presence of God in me?
Third… The life of an authentic Christian should be bringing the LIGHT of Jesus into the darkness of our world!
That light of Jesus is His TRUTH in my life which contradicts the darkness of the lies and truth distortions of the dark kingdom. (John 8:44) That light of Jesus is God’s Holiness in my life which contrasts with the debauchery of the evil darkness which permeates our world. (Gal. 5:16-22) That light of Jesus in the HOPE of God I bring into every situation, every conversation especially when hopelessness or despair are there. (Ps. 62:5-8)
So, the same self-analysis question again: Are these statements true of my life? Am I bringing the LIGHT of Jesus into the darkness of the world in which I live?
Now it should not be difficult for us to imagine what a profound impact these words of Peter had on the discouraged, persecuted Christians of the first century. And it has continued all around our world in every decade and century since. These powerful words of Paul seem to summarize Peter’s hopeful words: “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, people of God, without fault in a wicked and depraved generation. Then you will shine like stars among them as you hold firmly to the word of life…” (Phil. 2:13-15)Oh, my friends, truths like these today are why I call our challenging time together “Walking with Jesus”! These few minutes each day should change us, as the power of God’s word penetrates our lives… do I hear Amen from you? Do you need to go back and review those powerful declaration statements of IDENTITY and PURPOSE again? Do you need to join me in reviewing the self-analysis questions asking God to show us what HE sees in us? Now here’s another great worship song to bring all this into focus…
Today’s Scripture is 1 Peter 2:9, 10.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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