Gboyega Adedeji: Welcome to the channel. We are so glad to receive you to this episode of Bible in Focus. We believe your week has been great? We are grateful to God for that. There's something important we want to share together from the word of God. We want to focus on an important subject in the Bible, something that concerns you and I and that concerns all of us because the word that was sent to them is the same word that is sent to us. If we believe in this word, our experiences will be the same with theirs. So, we will be looking at the book of 1Peter 2, I know it is a familiar Scripture but we want to share the light of God as God gives us the opportunity, the ability to do it. We will be considering from verse 9-10.
Lara Gboyega Adedeji:
“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; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
Gboyega Adedeji: Again, the Bible says: “but that you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…” and what’s the purpose? “That you may proclaim the praises of Him…” not the praises of them, not the praises of anyone. “But the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light who once talking about us; “were not a people, but are now the people of God who had not obtained mercy. But now I've obtained mercy.” And we must interrogate these verses very well so that we will understand how we connect with what God has said concerning His people. The first thing is: “but you are a chosen generation.” The question is: how come you are also among the chosen? Is it an automatic ticket or an automatic tag? Or is it something that comes on you or something you connect with by virtue of a decision you've made or something that just happens haphazardly.
Lara Gboyega Adedeji: So, it's important for us to know that you being chosen, you being set apart as a special people unto God, is not an automatic tag or an automatic identity that you have. It is because you have believed in Christ Jesus, you have made a choice, to believe in the Son of God, to come to the cross of Christ, and exchange your weakness for His strength and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. And because you have done that something has happened to you. You have been conveyed; you have been translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His marvelous light.
Gboyega Adedeji: You know there is also an assumption there. There's an assumption that you who used to be in darkness is now in the lights. Yes. But is that also true for you? Have you actually been translated from darkness into the marvelous light? Now there's something that precedes this verse 9 that we must not omit. In verse 7, the Bible says: “therefore, to you who believe…” There is an assumption here again that you believe, you've made that choice to believe. It says further: “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.” To those who don't believe, this is their experience. But if you choose to believe, you then qualify to be among the chosen, you then qualify to be among the royal priesthood, among the holy nation of God.
Lara Gboyega Adedeji: So, what qualifies you to be a chosen generation is that you have believed, is that you have obtained mercy. Before now you had not obtained mercy, you have not come into that place of receiving the mercy of the Lord through Christ Jesus. But because you have now come to that place of mercy; receiving mercy, you have qualified to be a chosen generation; you have qualified to be a royal priesthood, you have qualified for royalty. You have qualified to be such a man or such a woman that can offer sacrifices to God and it is accepted. There is no longer distance between you and God, you have been reconciled. And that's why the Bible says, you have been translated, you have been reconciled back to God. Now you function within the space of God. There is no longer alienation between you and God, you are now functioning in the place and in the space of God called His Kingdom. And because of that, you can offer up sacrifices acceptable to the Lord. So, you are a royal priesthood and a holy nation, not because you are holy in yourself, but because you have believed in Christ Jesus and He has made you holy.
The Bible says, “we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.” So, because you have come into Christ Jesus, you have been made righteous in Him. So, you are now a holy nation. And the Bible says His own special people; you qualify for this in Christ. Everyone that comes in Christ, the Bible says is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold, all things are new. So, you are special, you are special, no matter what the devil is trying to say to you, you are special. The bible says therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now there is a law at work in you called the law of the Spirit of life. It is different from the law that was at work in you before you obtained mercy, which was the law of sin and death. Because of that you qualify as a special person onto God who is not condemned but justified in Christ.
Gboyega Adedeji: And your qualification is not subject to your feelings. Irrespective of how you feel the precondition for your special status is you believing and I want to read that chapter two verse four, so that you can understand the basis for your qualification. See what verse four says, coming to Him, not that you are dragged to Him. You choose to come, have you actually come to Jesus? He says, coming to him as to a Livingstone not a dead stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also haven't come to him. You also as living stones are being built up a special precious house, a holy priesthood, substantiating what we have in verse nine, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, not sacrifices in the flesh, not material sacrifices. It's not about you giving money, giving car, giving your jewelry; it's about spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, and sees the means through Jesus Christ. So, the Christ that you have believed, the Christ that you have come to is the means through which you're able to serve the Lord acceptably, and so you are a chosen generation, you are a royal priesthood, you are a holy nation, you are God's special people and there is a reason: you are to serve God acceptably by who you are.
The Bible says that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness. You were once in darkness and God has called you out. How do you repay God? You repay God by serving Him acceptably not anyhow. Many people are offering sacrifices of fools to God worldwide. Many people are busy but guilty. Many people are making noise but not making impact. God is looking for acceptable service. God is seeking for true worshipers. The Bible says: God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). So, the works you do to God must be spiritual works, must be sincere works, and must be truthful works. So, you serve God acceptably, you worship Him acceptably; you do everything you do to God acceptably understanding that you are doing it through Christ, whom you have come to, whom you believe.
Lara Gboyega Adedeji: So, you are showing forth the praises of Him, the one that called you, the one that separated you, the one that chose you, and the one that made you special, the one that made you holy. You are showing forth His praise because it is not of yourself. That's why the Bible says: it is not of works, so lest any man should boast. The way you will not boast is by actually proclaiming His praise. Who has chosen me? Christ Jesus, I'm chosen in Christ. I'm a chosen generation in Christ. I'm a royal priesthood in Christ, I'm a holy nation in Christ. I'm a special person unto God, in Christ. So you must proclaim it, you must say it, you must show it, you must demonstrate it, you must communicate it, and that's what we've been called to. And it's important to understand this.
Gboyega Adedeji: In Christ Jesus, I’m a special person unto God, God does not see me in that my raw state of guilt and filthiness. God sees me in the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ. And so you must remain in Christ if you want to remain special to God. Christ is the reason for you being special, your special status in God comes via Christ, you must stay with Him and be with Him, you are being built up a spiritual house unto God, and then you're able to function in your priesthood in Christ Jesus. I'm sure the essence of everything we do on the earth is that we are able to function as royal priesthood.
You know, when you hear the word royal priesthood, another word for it is in Nigeria, you can say somebody is a presidential staff, a presidential aide. You are an aide while you are serving the president. So, you are a priest, but you are a priest of the king. So, you're serving the king, the primary thing that you must remember is that you are a priest, but you are offering sacrifices not unto men or unto idols, but unto the living God, who is the King of kings. So, that makes you a royal priesthood, you must understand that perspective. Your origin may be far from the palaces of this world, but you have a spiritual origin in Christ, the King of kings. So, that makes you a royal servant, a royal priesthood. You offer sacrifices to God, in whatever capacity, in whatever endeavor that God has placed you. Whatever career or calling or vocation the Lord has given to you; you offer sacrifices unto God, knowing that you're not serving men; you're serving the living God. You could be a farmer, but, you're a royal farmer, you could be a doctor, you're a royal doctor, you could be an engineer, you're a royal engineer. You must see yourself first as one who is serving the King of kings, and that sustains your royalty. Everything you do, you must look at it as a sacrifice, I’m offering it up to God.
Do all things as unto the Lord. And as you do that your status in the Kingdom is sustained. The Lord is praised. The Bible says: let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father …” That’s it. It says: that we may show forth the praises of Him who called us. You have been called not mistakenly, but deliberately; you must demonstrate it, you must make God to receive returns on the investment of your calling. You were once in darkness, you were once doomed. But God has restored you. God has cloth you, God has decorated you. God has blessed you. In fact, God has been the reason why you have maintained your sanity. And so, you must serve Him and He must be glorified. In every area of your life, you must bring glory to God. That is what the Lord deserves, that's what the Lord expects from you. And as you do that the glory of the Lord will be magnified among the nations, and you will be blessed.
Lara Gboyega Adedeji: Such a beautiful time sharing this moment with you and the word of God, bringing it your way and right into your home and your doorstep today. We understand this by the Scriptures that we've read today that our rights and privileges in the Kingdom are assessed through Christ Jesus. Without Him we are nothing and without Him, we can't amount to anything. It’s important we embrace and remain in Christ. In Him we move, in Him we live in him we have our being.
We believe that you have been blessed. If you have been blessed. Please like this video; give us a comment about how this word has blessed you and the things that you've gleaned as you have listened to this video. Please share with your friends, your neighbors, your loved ones, let them hear the truth that can set them free and set them in the part of fulfilling their destiny. We love you! If you have not subscribed to this channel, please do so and click the notification bell so that every time we have a new content on the channel, you'll be the first to know and we believe that as you watch subsequent ones, you will be blessed and you will glean wisdom from the Word of God. Thank you and God bless you.
Gboyega Adedeji: All right before you go, make sure you watch the next video, it will be of great benefit to you. God bless you. Have a great week.
