And a lot of stuff on the world plate, on our plate here at Central, and lots of things to pray about. And speaking of prayer, let's come to the Lord as we come to His Word. Lord, how we bless Your name today. You are great and awesome, almighty and worthy. of all praise, honor, and glory. And we thank you for the revelation of your self and your desires for your people that are given to us in your word. We pray, Lord, that we would heed it, and we pray, Lord, that we would act upon it. For your glory and our good, we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, last week we continued our study in Peter's first epistle, and we saw that God makes of us living stones in building his house through Jesus, the priceless cornerstone. So if you have your Bible with you today, please turn with me to the book of 1 Peter in chapter two, and while you're doing so, I'll just remind you of what we saw last time. God's choice of the living foundation stone, which is Jesus, was and is rejected by the majority of mankind. Verse four, as you came to him, the living stone rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him. We also saw that believers are the true temple of the Lord and not any church building. We also, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house. We saw also that every Christian is a priest with access to God unimaginable to Old Testament believers. We are being made a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And we looked briefly at the Old Testament priesthood of Israel, the sacrifices that they were required to offer on behalf of the people. In contrast that then also with the conception of the universal priesthood of all Christian believers that is taught in the New Testament and the acceptable sacrifices that we are to make. Not as a provision for sin, but as thankful offerings to God for what he has done for us. And we'll see Peter inspired today to continue that great theme. But we also saw that Christ's position is foundational, it is key, and he is the capstone. Verse 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. We noted that some commentators have variously identified this stone, who is Christ, as a foundation stone, a keystone at the top of an arch, or as the capstone of a pyramid. And finally, we noted the living stone reveals the hearts of those that it contacts. Verse seven, now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. and a stone that causes people to stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And they stumble because they disobey the message, which is also what they were destined for. By contrast, then, we will see today that God picked us in order that we might proclaim his excellencies. That's our message title as well today, Picked to Proclaim His Excellencies. And today we'll see Peter, inspired by God, to return to several of the themes that he has so far been developing as he contrasts those who have rejected the precious cornerstone of Jesus Christ. They have disobeyed the word of God. And he compares that then and contrasts with the blessings enjoyed by those who have believed and who have received him. So let's look at verses nine and 10 this morning. 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 and into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you would not receive mercy, but now you have received mercy. So first, Peter's inspired to share four more blessings that are enjoyed by the believer. First, we are elected to be one tribe as Christians. The first clause here in verse 9, you are a chosen people. Chosen here, once again, is from the Greek word eclektos. It means chosen by God to inherit salvation. Peter has already used this word several times already in these first two chapters, and elsewhere in the New Testament, as we've said before, This word is translated or actually really not translated. It's it's transliterated It's taken almost directly from the Greek as elect Eclectus elect Paul uses it in 2 Timothy 2, verses 8 to 10. And he writes to his protege, remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel for which I'm suffering, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the eclectos. the elect that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Jesus also used it as he described the tribulation period in the end times. He said, if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. And at that time, if anyone says to you, look, here's the Messiah, or there he is, do not believe it, for false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I've told you this ahead of time, Jesus said. Now, in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, this word is also translated once again as chosen. In him, in Christ, we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. It's all about God. The NIV says that we are a chosen people. That is, eclectos genos. Genos can mean a stock, a tribe, or a family. It can also mean the aggregate of many individuals of the same nature, kind, or sort. So some versions render it as a race, a chosen race. while the King James says that we are a chosen generation. Now, unfortunately to most readers, that suggests a group that's marked out by a period of time rather than a commonality of belief. in Christ particularly, which is actually what is at the heart of this particular blessing. We are a group of individuals made similar, made a family, a race through God's sovereign choice to elect us and join us as brothers and sisters in Christ. Second, we are blessed to be priests of the heavenly king. We are a royal priesthood. As we saw last week, Peter was inspired to describe believers as living stones being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And John writes in his opening salutation in the book of the Revelation, to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be what? A kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father, to Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Royal here is from the Greek word, Basilios, meaning royal, kingly, or regal. We've been made priests of our heavenly king, the Lord Jesus. John wrote later in the book of the Revelation, the conclusion of the great tribulation period, they're going to wage war against the lamb, that is Jesus, but the lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords. and king of kings, and with him will be his called, his chosen, and his faithful followers." Now, it's interesting to note to some that Peter seems to be quoting the Old Testament promises made to Israel here in verse 9. They look like this. Now, if you obey me, God said to them, fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. But even though the language is almost identical, this cannot be a quotation from Exodus precisely because it is made to Israel, okay? That's not who Peter is writing to in this letter, as we said in our introduction. Peter's primary audience is Gentile believers, and that's confirmed, actually, by the original Greek words used in the next blessing that are described as being set apart out of the Gentiles. We're described as set apart out of the Gentiles. We are a holy nation. Holy is from the Greek word hagios, a most holy thing. Specifically, when it's describing a person, it means a saint. That is a believer in Christ, not a miracle worker affirmed by the Catholic Church. We are all, as believers in Christ, saints. Haggios speaks of being set apart from the profane and the worldly, and instead, one who becomes in the possession of moral purity through our association with Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, okay? We are set apart in that way to become more and more conformed to the image of Christ, more and more holy. And in the second giving of the Old Testament law, the book of Deuteronomy, Israel is described as a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Unfortunately, Israel did not keep the Lord's commandments. They began to worship idols and other gods. But a cursory comparison of that passage in 2 Peter 9 would seem to suggest that Peter must be writing to the Jews, especially since he appears to be quoting from Exodus 19, as we said in the last point. Also here, Deuteronomy 7. But it's a case now where we have to dig just a little bit deeper into our English, that our English translations would lead us to believe, to understand what Peter's actually saying. So the word that is translated as nation, in the NIV is actually the Greek word ethnos, ethnos meaning a tribe, a nation, a people group. But the Greek lexicon explains in the Old Testament that word refers not to the Jews as a people, but to the foreign nations who do not worship Yahweh, the one true and living God. In other words, this word, ethnos, always refers to pagans and Gentiles, not to the nation of Israel. Many times in the New Testament, ethnos is translated simply as Gentiles. Paul also specifically uses the term for Gentile Christians elsewhere in the New Testament. Jesus is condemning the Jewish religious leaders in Matthew 21 for failing to recognize and receive him as their promised Messiah. And he speaks of being the cornerstone that has been rejected. We talked about that last week. And he went on telling them, therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people or a nation, actually ethnos, that is the Gentiles, who will produce its fruit. Paul was inspired to write to the Galatians, making several incredible points. Understand then that those who have faith in Jesus are children of Abraham, and scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, the ethnos by faith, and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham. Isn't that wild? The gospel? of Jesus the Messiah was actually announced to Abraham thousands of years before Jesus ever came to earth. And so it says, all nations, all ethnos will be blessed through you. So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. He also writes to the Ephesians that out of the original chosen people, only a few have actually recognized and received the Messiah. And those then have been supernaturally joined with Gentile believers into the body of Christ, the church. Chapter three of that epistle he writes, surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you. That is the mystery made known to me by revelation as I have already written briefly. In reading this then, you'll be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations, as it now has been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. And we have to remember that Jesus said that this setting apart occurs through the study an application of the word of God. He prayed for his disciples as believers and all that would follow after them in John 17. He prayed to the Father saying, I'm coming to you now, but I say these things while I'm still in the world so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I've given them your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them, set them apart, make them holy by the truth. Your word is truth. And as you sent me into the world, I've sent them into the world. And for them I sanctify, I set myself apart that they too may be truly sanctified, made holy. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that God's temple is sacred and you together are that temple. To Timothy, he declared that he saved us and he's called us to a hagios, a holy life, not because of anything that we've done, but because of his own purpose and grace. And that grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Though in the Old Testament Israel was God's holy nation, since the coming of Christ and the start of this new dispensation, the church age, Christians, that is, believers in Jesus, whether they are Jews or Gentiles by background, are now the holy nation or the people of God because, and this is the fourth blessing, we are a people purchased for ownership by God. We are a people purchased for ownership by God. The original NIV says it's a people belonging to God. The current version of the NIV says God's special possession. The people here are laos, a people, people group, a tribe that is those who are of the same stock and sometimes the same language. Belonging to God is from the Greek peripoiesis, It's an acquisition, and thus a preservation, having been made God's own property. King James, interestingly, translates this word as peculiar. We are a peculiar people. Now, had to go to my favorite Bible answer site to figure this one out, I'm afraid. GotQuestions.org explains why. Probably the most common usage of the word peculiar today is referring to someone or something that is strange, who is odd or uncommon. But at the time that the King James Version was translated, the word peculiar was often used to refer to something belonging to someone, as in someone else's property. And if we look up the word peculiar in a dictionary today, we'll still find that that's one of several meanings that this word peculiar can have. It can still be used to describe something or someone that belongs exclusively to some person, group, or thing. It may refer to a property or privilege belonging exclusively or characteristically to a person. So in this verse, Peter is not saying that Christians are necessarily odd or unusual people, although some of us are. And even though, to the world, it often does look that way, because if we are being who we should be in this world, we don't look like the world. We do look different. We do look strange to them. It says elsewhere in Scripture, they think it odd that you don't join in with them on all the botchery and things that they do. What this passage is communicating is that Christians as believers are people who belong to God. We are God's possession. Another way of saying that then is we are God's own special people. Paul's inspired to use this phrase early in his letter to the Ephesians. You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are what? God's possession, to the praise of his glory. Once again, it's all about him. And in the context of a city where there was rampant sexual immorality related to the pagan worship practices that went on there, Paul writes of the importance of staying away from such things because God has purchased believers. He writes in 1 Corinthians 6, flee then from sexual immorality. All other sins that a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually sins against their own body. do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have received from God you're not your own you were bought with a price therefore honor God with your bodies what was this price that Paul writes about here. Well, he identifies it when charging the Ephesian elders with their responsibilities during his final visit with them. He admonished, keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. The purchase price to redeem us out of the slave market to sin was the very blood of Jesus. It's a profound purchase price is confirmed when we observe John's vision of heaven. It's recorded in the book of the Revelation chapter five where he records people worshiping before the throne of Christ. There it says they sang a new song saying you were worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. Because you were slain and what with your blood you purchased for God purpose people from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you've made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God. They will reign on the earth. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels numbering thousands upon thousands, 10,000 times 10,000. And they encircled the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders, and in a loud voice they were saying, worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power, and wealth, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and praise. And then I heard every creature in heaven, and on earth, under the earth, and on the sea, and all that is in them saying to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever." And the four living creatures said, Amen, and the elders fell down and worshipped. Leads us naturally to the next point, which is the fact that God chose us in order that we might praise Him. God chose us in order that we might praise Him. Look at the second half of verse nine. He's already said, you're a chosen people, you're a royal priesthood, you're a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you. Though to cynics and unbelievers, that may sound self-indulgent, prideful of God, God knows fully just how excellent and worthy he is of receiving such praise. He is the only one who deserves it. Declare is from the Greek, exangelpo, means to tell out or to tell forth, to declare abroad, divulge or publish something. and to make known by praising or proclaiming, that is to celebrate something. King James then translates this that we are to show forth the praises. The New American Standard says we proclaim the excellencies and we praise him for who he is. He is our creator. He is eternal. He is unchanging. He is perfect. He is omnipotent, all-powerful. He's omnipresent. He's everywhere in His creation at all times. He is omniscient. That is, He is all-knowing, past, present, and future. He's holy. He's righteous. He is just. He is true. He's faithful. He's loving. He's merciful. He's kind. He's gracious. That is, if it were not for God's grace, His holiness would exclude us from His presence. God is infinite. And in a word, He is incomparable. Those are just some of the perfections of God and reasons to praise Him for who He is. And we also praise Him for all that He has done. Throughout the Old Testament, we find both commands to consistently give praise to the God of heaven, the people of Israel were to tell others, including the Gentile nations, about the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord. And we also find many instances of people willingly and joyfully obeying those commands, especially in the largest book in all the scriptures, the Psalms, which is Israel's songbook. Psalm 68, four and five. Sing to God, sing in praise of his name. Extol him who rides on the clouds and rejoice before him. His name is Yahweh the Lord, a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 86, all the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They will bring glory to your name for you are great and do marvelous deeds. You alone are God. Psalm 109, with my mouth, I will greatly extol the Lord and in the great throng of worshipers, I will praise him. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah of the people that I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. In many passages in the New Testament are what the theologians call doxological, that is they are expressions of praise. For instance, Colossians 1, 15 to 20, where we're told so marvelously that the sun is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him. He's before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven by making peace through his own blood shed on the cross. We find Paul just routinely breaking out in these doxologies of praise throughout his letters. And again, as we saw last time, we're called to the acceptable New Testament sacrifice of praise, Hebrews 13, 15. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. So we praise God by our heartfelt worship. Edmund Clowney writes very wisely, and I think correctly, if the singing of the praises of God are viewed as merely the preliminaries to the sermon, the meaning of worship has been lost. Nothing, he writes, can be put above worship. We adore God not to gain his favor, but because adoration is the only appropriate response to his grace. We are, to be sure, uniquely blessed through worship, and as God's worshipers, we seek his blessing. But the core of our worship is not receiving, but giving. Say that again, because it's so important. The core of our worship is not receiving, but giving. Peter reminds us that the inestimable privilege of entering the presence of the Lord contains a yet greater privilege to lift up his name in praise. And he then lifts us up so that we may lift him up. And our public praising of the name of God has another wonderful result. We declare before the people of the nations the works in the name of the Lord. Our praises bear witness to the world. And he writes, the heart of evangelism is doxological. That is, it flows out of hearts aflame in worship. Our hallelujahs do indeed join with the anthems of all the heavenly hosts, but here on earth, they are heard by our neighbors. Our praises go up to heaven, but they also go out to the ears of our neighbors. As we show that we truly value God by coming together regularly to praise and worship Him, we testify to a watching world that He is, that His way and His word are good, and that He is worthy to receive all honor and praise and glory because of who He is and what He has done for us. We also praise him by our witness. God writes through Isaiah in chapter 43, I've revealed and saved and proclaimed I and not some foreign God among you. You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, that I am God. And when we obey God's various commands to not hesitate to open our mouths and bring witness to our friends, our family, our neighbors, our coworkers about who he is and what he has done for us, this too is declaring his praise. This is proclaiming his excellencies. As we speak to others about our faith and who we have faith in, we extol and recount the great things that God has done specifically for us. And the wonder of who he is, not merely because he's told us to do so, not because this is the way that he has chosen to bring more people into his kingdom, although that is certainly true, but simply because we are so delighted by him and his goodness that we can't help but share the truth with our friends and our neighbors. Our worship of God, our esteem for Him, motivates our witness to others. And finally, we also praise Him by our obedient way of life. Every obedient choice that we make as a thankful response to the grace that He has shown to us is another way to praise him for who he is and what he has done. As Paul wrote to the Romans, and we saw this last week, therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your true and proper worship. Peter then goes on to close verse nine with an additional reason to declare God's praises. He's rescued us from the dominion of darkness. God has rescued us out of the dominion of darkness that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light. Throughout scripture, darkness is portrayed as a metaphor for sin, for evil and death, while light is used to describe truth and life. For instance, the prophet Daniel, as he prayed, thanking God for revealing the meaning to him of Pharaoh's dream, said this in praise of what God had just done. Praise be to the name of God forever and ever. Wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons. He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things, and he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells within him. John begins his gospel with these words. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning, Through him all things were made, and without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. All these thousands of years later, chapter three, we're told this is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but people love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. And again, a few chapters later, it is written, when Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Paul testifying before King Agrippa of God's divine intervention on the road to Damascus that led to both his salvation and his service to the Lord, declares Jesus's words to him. Now get up and stand on your feet. I've appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I'll rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I'm sending them to you. To what? Open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. From the power of Satan to God so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified, set apart, made holy by faith in me. As a result, he would indeed continue to draw this contrast as he wrote to various churches that he had helped to found. To the Colossians, he reminded them of their responsibility of giving joyful thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he's rescued us from the dominion of darkness and he's brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves. He also warned the Ephesians, you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Notice there that Paul did not write, you were once in darkness. He writes, you were darkness. God also warned people through the prophet Isaiah of the danger of deliberately confusing these two. Woe, good as dead, are those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those. God has called us out of darkness and into his wonderful light, and he calls us to call others through the proclamation of his excellencies, our declarations of praise. As we move to verse 10, we're given two bonus reasons to praise and extol the Lord. Peter reminds us that once our differences dominated, okay? One time, differences dominated. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Paul describes the uglinesses of our former situation to Titus in this way. At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. He was also inspired to share the plight of the Gentiles in Old Testament times with the Ephesians. And this is in chapter two of his letter to that church where he had personally ministered for some three odd years. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision, which is done in the body by human hands, will remember at that time you were separate from Christ. excluded from citizenship in Israel unless you are willing to become a Jew and to go through all those rituals. You were excluded from citizenship in Israel. You were foreigners to the covenants of the promise without hope, without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. He then himself is our peace. He gives us peace with God, he gives us peace with others, and he gave peace between these, at that time, arrogant Jews, arrogant because they had been chosen by God, and the Gentiles. He himself is our peace who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose then was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which he put to death their hostility. He came and he preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near, the Gentiles and the Jews. For through him we both have access to the Father by one spirit. And consequently then you are no longer foreigners and strangers. but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone, and in him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him too, you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit. See, all this stuff just ties together. It's the Holy Spirit who's the author, telling Paul this, telling Peter this, telling John these things. And so in a way that would be impossible with unsaved human beings. The scriptures just tie together. Once we were not a people, but now we are the people of God, and our differences no longer dominate us. Finally then, Peter points out, once we were lost in pride and self-righteousness, but God saved us by his mercy. Once we were lost in pride and self-righteousness, but God saved us by his mercy. He writes here at the close of verse 10, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. See, most of humanity pridefully assume that one day they are going to be able to stand before God deserving to be led into his heaven because they've somehow managed to be maybe just good enough to earn their way in. but the Bible is quite clear that all have sinned and they fall short of the glory of God and therefore nobody is going to get in by their own personal goodness. The only way is to humble ourselves by bowing down and admitting that we're nowhere near good enough and by crying out to God for mercy and forgiveness for all the things that we have done to offend him, who hates sin and rebellion. Mercy is the Greek l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l compassion or pity that is shown by divine grace. Paul's words at the Romans about God's election of people to salvation bears repeating because Peter's words here in 1 Peter 2 describe believers as chosen or eclektos by God. In Romans 9, Paul writes, I'll have mercy. on whom I choose to have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom I have compassion. And therefore, it does not depend on human desire or effort, but simply on God's mercy. Scripture says to Pharaoh, I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you, and that by name might be proclaimed in all the earth. God brought judgment on Pharaoh. Therefore, God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. Edmund Clowney comments on this, the heart of the covenant, whether the old or the new, I would add, is God's electing love. The scriptural teaching of God's choosing is sometimes questioned because it's not understood, and sometimes it's hated because it is understood. but it can only be received by faith. For to receive it, one must confess that God is God. We might not like it, but we cannot say because I don't like it, I won't accept it. He goes on. The wonder is not that God chooses some and not others, Abel and not Cain, Isaac and not Ishmael, Jacob and not Esau, you and not somebody else. The wonder is that God chooses anyone at all. For we are all wretched sinners in need of his mercy and grace. Paul writes to the Ephesians that this election flows actually out of God's love and his grace. Because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace that we have been saved. He also tells the Corinthians that his ministry of proclaiming the excellencies of the Lord, that is sharing the gospel, is a mercy from God, both to him and to the others who will come to believe through him. Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we've renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly, we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age, Satan, has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, let light shine out of the darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. And we have, Paul writes, this treasure in jars of clay, weak vessels to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. Again and again throughout his letters, Paul reiterates that it's God's power and not his own human efforts that make his ministry successful. It's God's grace and mercy, not anything in him. And that should give all of us great encouragement to remain faithful in proclaiming God's excellencies because God promises to empower our efforts as well. Hear Paul's words to his protege, Timothy. I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. And even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. So here's a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance, Timothy. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason, I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. And Paul can't help, as he thinks about that, to break out in doxology again. Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever, amen. Peter too knew the bitter sting of failure, having boldly boasted to the Lord Jesus that even if all the other disciples fell away, well, he never would. And of course, we know that Jesus then told him, yes, you will, that very night, you'll deny me three times. And that, of course, later happened. But amazingly, that betrayal did not cause Jesus to also deny his friend and his disciple. For we find in John 21, after Jesus' resurrection, he met again with his closest disciples, including Peter, after they had spent the night out fishing on the Sea of Galilee. They didn't know what else to do at this point, so they went back to their old work. and they'd caught nothing. They were returning to shore, and they were met by the Lord, whom they didn't yet recognize once again, and he told them, cast your nets back out, and as it happened previously, then they hauled them back up, just bursting with fish, and John recounts that Jesus then had prepared food for them, and when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord. I'm sure he had to say very shamefacedly. Do you really love me more than these? You said you'd never deny me. Yes, Lord, he said. You know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my lambs. And again, Jesus said, Simon, son of John, do you love me? And he answered, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, take care of my sheep. And the third time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him a third time, do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. And Jesus said, feed my sheep. Peter's three-time denial of the Lord was met with a three-fold opportunity to repent and reaffirm his love for the Lord, and in the process, he was then given a ministry to feed the Lord's sheep, even as we who are sitting here today are being fed by him, as he wrote for all time. 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 and into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now, like Peter, you too have received mercy. And like Peter, we too have been picked to proclaim his excellencies. Let's pray. Lord, what a privilege to be shown mercy by the king of the universe, the one perfect and most holy being in all of creation. Lord, you have picked us that we might proclaim your excellency to our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, our relatives, and yet we confess, Lord, that all too often we are timid. We are afraid to tell our story. We are afraid to say to people how good and great you are. Give us courage that we need to praise you as you deserve through our worship, through our witness, and through the way we live our lives. And we ask this for your glory and our good.