Sermon: Being An Exile Without Even Leaving Your House
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Duration: 24:49
Size: 11.3 MB
New Life In The Same Old Place
“Being An Exile Without Even Leaving Your House”
1 Peter 1:1-2
- The Writer – Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ
I think the emphasis here is not on Peter’s history, but rather, Peter’s authority.
And in faith, we believe that they are in fact the very words of God. - The Readers
Well there are two words in that phrase that we need to nail down. They are the words “exiles” and “dispersion“.
As those verses make clear, the recipients of 1 Peter were not predominantly Jewish. They were predominantly not Jewish. - The Chosen
You see there that Peter refers to them as “elect exiles”, or we could say “chosen exiles”.
Verse 2 actually contains three phrases that all connect back to and qualify this very word, “elect”.- Those Foreknown
It is a clear and indisputable fact from Scripture that God knows everything and everyone that was, is, and will be. - Those Sanctified
Those who were once conformed, are now being transformed by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit within them. - Those Cleansed
Through the power of the Spirit, the Spirit that sets us apart, we are called to obey Jesus and not the wisdom of this world.
But even when we fail to obey, even when we stumble, we rest in the fact that we have been chosen for sprinkling with his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ.
And so if you are Christian, you have been called, you have been chosen by God, to follow Jesus through the forgiveness of the cross.
- Those Foreknown
- Life as an Alien
“Do you understand that, if you are a follower of Christ, you are an elect exile?
How are we to live a new life in the same old place?
First, elect exiles are called to live like home at the local level.
You are no longer defined by your birth in this or that town or country. You are now defined by your birth from above.
We must grow in and live out the customs of our kingdom, yes, at the local level.
Second, elect exiles will constantly feel the “rub” of spiritual culture shock.
Christian, the tension with this world will always be there because we are elect exiles.
For those who are resident aliens in a new land, those who have not forgotten their home, there will be a friction that exists in this other place.
Third, elect exiles must never forget why they are different.
The reason we are different has less to do with where, and more to do with who.
But our differences should come as a consequence of the goal of living for Jesus Christ, our true King.
May we grow in that recognition of and experience of God’s favor as those who have been chosen by Him.
Next Week
“Your Take on Time”
I Peter 1:3-12