Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 167

June 18;   I Peter 2:9;   224/260(I);   ‘A Chosen People’

1 Peter 2:9 But 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.       NIV

In this verse, Peter is talking about the Church.  ‘Chosen’ means one picked out from a larger group for special privileges.  When we become Born Again, we are part of the ‘Universal” Church.  Everyone who has asked the Lord Jesus into their hearts, everywhere, are part of the Church.  The special privileges we have are all of the blessings the Lord Jesus suffered, died and rose again to freely give to us.  As Christians, part of the Church, we are all priests.  A priest represents God to the people.  We are to live our lives in such a manner that others would know we are a Christian, by our Christlike conduct.  We must always do our best live in such a way that the lost see Jesus in us.  We also represent God to the people by sharing with them who He is, by telling them what the Bible says.  A priest also represents the people to God.  We are to pray for the salvation of the lost, pray for those in need and lay hands on those in need of healing.  Again, we must share the gospel with people, making them aware of who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done for them.  Once we become Born Again, our lives should change drastically.  The Lord has delivered us from the power of the devil and his ‘darkness,’ which is a life lived without Jesus.  Because of this, the Lord’s joy is in us and we should worship Him and sing praises to Jesus always, thanking Him for all He has done for us.  The Lord Jesus is the light of the world.  He lives in our spirit by the Holy Spirit.  The Word of God teaches that we, as the people of God are also the light of the world.  We can live in a manner that draws others to Jesus