00:00Hello everyone, this is William Chambers. Thank God that he's given us another day to look into
00:04his wonderful word. It's good to be here with you all. Let us dive into the message today.
00:11If I had a title for today's message, I would call it Rejected by People, but Chosen by God.
00:19But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people,
00:27that ye should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous
00:34light. That's what the word of God speaks over his believers right there. God gives royal identity
00:43to wounded people, to rejected people. This is Peter, and he's writing to believers who are
00:51persecuted at this time. They are scattered all over the place at this time, and they are marginalized,
00:58pushed to the edges of society, and God calls them a royal priesthood. In the circumstances that they
01:07were in, they could have easily convinced themselves that they were abandoned and insignificant. They
01:13could have easily convinced themselves that they mattered to no one, but Peter reminds them who
01:19they are. Sometimes we need to be reminded of who we are. God often speaks identity over hurting
01:28people while they're still hurting. Lord, thank you, Lord, for speaking identity, because sometimes you
01:35can believe the pain. To the world, we may look rejected. We may look abandoned. They may label us
01:41discarded and broken. Useless. But God in this text says these people are royal. They're holy. They're
01:48chosen and beloved. Ah, I thank God for the identity that he gives us. He calls them a royal priesthood,
01:56meaning that they have both dignity and access. What do I mean by dignity? You have dignity because
02:03you belong to the king, the king of kings, Christ himself, and you have access, access to the throne
02:13to come near under God. Everybody can't do that. Everybody ain't children of the king. They don't
02:20have access like that. Everybody don't have access. They can't draw near to God whenever they please.
02:26Believer, you may be going through pain like these believers were, or experiencing hardship like these
02:32believers were. Pain may shape your story, but it does not define your value. This text tells us that
02:40God treasures us. God treasures what others treat as uncommon. The Bible says he calls us a peculiar
02:49people. He's talking to a marginalized and ignored people, meaning that you may be ignored
02:56and treasured and treasured by God deeply. Though men ignore you, that doesn't mean that you're not
03:05treasured deeply by God. The reason why Peter has to remind these people this is because hurting people
03:11may secretly wonder, am I still valuable if everybody's rejecting me constantly? That can be a
03:18thought in your head. Or you may be thinking, do I still matter if people moved on from me? They
03:23moved
03:26to me. I'm not important at all. That's why Peter is speaking this verse. This verse clearly answers
03:33that you belong to God in a special way, believer. One of the enemy's greatest attacks is convincing
03:41rejected people that they are disposable, that they are useless. But God specializes in drawing near
03:56near to the outcast. He drew near to the widow. He drew near to strangers. He drew near to those
04:04who
04:04felt replaced, to those who felt overlooked, to those who felt no longer value. That's who God draws near to.
04:13And this is important because people may start seeing themselves through the eyes of them that
04:19wounded them. You may start seeing yourself through the eyes of men who don't like you. And that is
04:24dangerous. So God steps in here and God redefines identity before rejection defines them permanently.
04:32God said, I don't want you to be permanently defined by people who don't like you. I don't want you
04:37to see
04:37yourself through those eyes. I want you to see yourself through my eyes. And through my eyes, you are a
04:43chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people. I want you to see yourself the
04:51way I see you. You should get your identity from God. Ah, belonging to God is greater than being accepted
05:00by
05:01anyone at all. You belong to me and your treasure. So God speaks identity over a hurting people. And you
05:10got to
05:10thank God for that. Not only does God speak identity, but God calls people out of darkness into a marvelous
05:16light. God is trying to call his people out of a darkness. What am I talking about? Darkness includes despair.
05:24You might be a little bitter. Darkness is bitterness. Darkness is lonely. These people might have been a little lonely.
05:30God said, I'm the one that calls you out of darkness. These people might have been in confusion. Confusion is
05:35darkness. Hopelessness is darkness. But God said, I'm a call my people out. How does he call us out? With
05:42his word. Oh, you should be thanking God that he is the God that calls you. He don't leave you
05:49in the
05:49place that the world leaves you in. He calls you out of it. I got to calm down already. This
05:55means that God
05:56still reaches for hurting people. If you're hurting, God said, I'm after you. I'm after you. I love you too
06:04much to leave you in that. You mean too much to me. Oh, you're worth too much to me. God
06:09pursues
06:10wounded hearts. You're wounded. I'm after you. Oh, God. Thank you for coming after my wounded heart.
06:16God restores rejected souls. I'm restoring your soul with your true identity because you might have started
06:22to believe what they said about you. Oh, God said, I'm calling my people out of darkness into a marvelous
06:30light. Marvelous light means that there is life beyond the darkness. It is life beyond what you've been going
06:37through. Oh, that season that you was going through. God said, I'm here to call you out of it. Oh,
06:42I'm
06:42here to call you into understanding. I'm here to call you into blessing. I'm here to call you into wisdom
06:48and in power. I'm here to call you out of darkness. If you don't believe God will call you out
06:55of
06:55darkness, this is the same God that called Lazarus out of the grave. That God is the God that still
07:00causes people from emotional graves. Oh, what do I mean by emotional graves? Graves of shame. God,
07:08I call you out of shame. Graves of abandonment. Emotional graves of abandonment. God, I call you out of
07:15that. Oh, can I get a witness? Eyewitness right now. Oh, Mr. Tree, can I get a witness? God will
07:22call you out
07:23of graves of grief. I don't want you to stay in grief. God will call you out of pain. Oh,
07:29you've been
07:30there too long. Graves of broken heartedness. Graves of worthlessness. I don't want you to die in those
07:38graves. God does not leave his people in dark places. Ah, you got to thank your God. He's the
07:45God that calls his people out of darkness into a marvelous light. There's life after grief. There's
07:51life after pain. Oh, Lord. Thank you, Lord. God's calling his people. God's calling his people in
07:57this text into their true identity. These people might have been feeling persecuted and scattered.
08:04They might have been feeling marginalized and enduring all kinds of hardship, but God says,
08:09I'm going to call you out. And that's what he's doing in this text. Darkness may surround the
08:13believer's life for a season, but it does not silence the voice of God. Ah, God is still calling.
08:22People may stop reaching out for you, but God is still calling. Relationships might grow distant,
08:28but God is still calling. Affection may disappear, but God is still calling. And if God is still
08:35calling, that means he's not done yet. You got to thank your God. Darkness may say to you, there is
08:42no future. But if God calls you, light says, I am not finished. Darkness said there's no future for you,
08:50but I tell you, light says, I'm not finished with you yet. Darkness may say to you, you're trapped in
08:56that situation. You ain't getting out of that. But light says there is still a way forward. There is
09:03still a way unto God. There is still a way to victory. This is what light says. You got to
09:09thank
09:09your God because he calls us out of darkness. God keep on calling me because his, his voice is
09:16stronger than bitterness. His voice is stronger than darkness. His voice is stronger than rejection.
09:21His voice is stronger than loneliness. Oh, you got to be in his word so you can hear
09:26his call. You ought to be in prayer so I can hear your call. You believer may be rejected by
09:33people,
09:33but at the same time, you can be chosen by God. If you don't believe that Jesus was rejected of
09:40men,
09:41but chosen by God and precious. Lord, help us to know that we can be rejected of men,
09:47but chosen and deeply valued by you. Help us God to know this in Jesus name. I pray and say,
09:55amen.
