An appetite for being good

“An Appetite for Being Good”

1 Peter 2:1-12

Today: 24 August 2014

by Koh Earn Soo

An Appetite for Being Good

1 Peter 2:1–12

1 Peter 2:1–12

• Choice

• Chosen

• Choosing

Choice

• Life is about making such choices.

• Our choices and how we handle them shape the people we become.

Choice• Today we are being asked to make a choice.

• 1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Chosen• 1 Peter 2

4 As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Chosen1 Peter 2

6 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Chosen7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.

But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”[c]

Chosen1 Peter 2

8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”[d]

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

Spirit of Rejection

• 1 Peter 2

4 As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans

Abandonment and Rejection

• Abandonment: "A total desertion; the state of being forsaken.“

• Rejection: “To throw away as anything uselessness or vile”

Signs ofAbandonment

• Being ignored by someone you love

• Left alone, no one to help

• Not able to trust anyone, including God

• Having been made fun of by peers, children, family members

• Having been left to fend for yourself

• Having been a scape-goat

Signs of Rejection• Feeling that you don't belong

• Feelings of unworthiness and no value

• Feelings of uselessness

• Feelings of not being loved and accepted

• Feeling that you aren't important, nor are your needs

• Feeling that no matter what you do, it's not good enough

• Fear of man

• Perfectionist

• Driven to perform to be loved

Abandonment and Rejection

• The differences are clear.

The Abandonment is an "act“;

The Rejection is the "feeling" or "response" to the act.

Spirit of Rejection

• We can handle quite a bit of pain, setbacks, failures, suffering and challenges if we are emotionally and spiritually healthy.

• But we feel abandoned, rejected and depressed – it can be very tough … we can feel very alone, useless – we are like in a dark tunnel with no light at the end of it.

• Therefore it is very important for us to know the truth – for it is the truth that will set us free.

• The truth of who are and the truth of whose we are.

Chosen

• 1 Peter 24 As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him —

“The stone the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone,”[c]

Cornerstone

The one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. (1 Peter 2:16)

• 1 Peter 2v5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Chosen

• 1 Peter 2

• The truth of who are and the truth of whose we are.

• Who are we? – We are living stones (v5) – not insignificant!

Chosen

Chosen

• 1 Peter 2

• 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Chosen people

• (not rejected/not discarded/not sampahmasyarakat/not set aside/ no unwanted/ not chucked away but elected and chosen)

Royal Priesthood

• Priest – one who ministers/ representatives of God/ministers of God/ambassadors of God

• Royal – not a small time clergy but royal/king’s men/on His Highness business/on Her majesty service

Holy nation

• Holy – set apart /Unique/Distinct/Exclusive

• Nation – citizenship – has status/ not a pariah/ not stateless/ has rights/ has priviledges/ protected/secured/a sense of belonging

God’s special possession

• purchased/belonging/owned/not easily stolen /marked/stamped – we belong to God.

• (apple of God’s eye)

Chosen• Therefore, we have been chosen! We

have a high calling, we are significant, have a purpose, have a mission.

• Key purpose/mission – Declare the

praises of Him

• Declare of His Salvation

• Declare of His deliverance – out of darkness into His wonderful light.

• Choice

• Chosen

• Choosing

• Time to start choosing.

Choosing

• Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society

• 1 Peter 2

• 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Choosing• It is a choice.

• How?

• 1. Hardest. We need to be more like Christ in character and attitude. (This is not performance-based but an inner transformation by the Holy Spirit)

• 2. Slightly easier. We need to offer our time, talents and effort to be a blessing to others, to do good to others.

Choosing

Choosing

• 3. This is the easiest and (for me) the very least we can do. Use our money for good.

An Appetite for Being Good

• It is your choice.

• You have been chosen.

• Now is the time for choosing.

An Appetite for Being Good

•What is your choice?