Highlands Fellowship EXILES: Following Jesus in a Fallen World: A Different Calling in a Dark World Transcript
0:00 Well, hey everybody, and welcome to Highlands Fellowship. It's so good to have each and every one of you with us from all of our locations, and just excited that I get to share God's Word with you today. If you're here for the very first time, I wanna say you're very, very welcome and hope that you enjoy it and make yourself at home, because as we like to say around here, "Highlands is home." And so welcome home today. You know, next week, before we get into today's message, next week, I just wanna share with you, it's one of my favorite weeks of the entire year. It's Baptism Sunday, and it's a time where we really set aside time to really celebrate people who are going public with their faith, who are going public and identifying themselves as followers of Jesus Christ.
0:41 And it is a very, very special time. And so I hope that you'll make it a point to be with us next week as we celebrate Baptism Sunday. But if you have your Bible today or a Bible app, go ahead and open that up to 1 Peter Chapter 2. We're actually in week 3 of our series called Exiles, and Peter has been reminding us that as followers of Jesus, we live in this world, but this world is not our home. We are exiles. Like, we live here, we work here, we raise our families here, we go to school here, we have neighbors, we pay bills, of course. You know, we have some friends, and we enjoy some good things here on this earth.
1:21 But this world is not our permanent home. Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, our King is Jesus, our hope is eternal, and our home is still ahead of us. And so that's why Peter calls followers of Jesus exiles, because an exile is someone who lives in one place but belongs somewhere else. And last week we talked about what it means to live differently because we are exiles. Peter said that we shouldn't allow the culture around us to press us into its mold. Like, we shouldn't simply think like everybody else thinks. We shouldn't value just what the world values. We shouldn't allow our desires to determine our decisions.
2:08 But Peter reminded us of what God told Moses when He said, "Be holy because I am holy." In other words, if we belong to Jesus, there ought to be something different about the way we live our lives. But that raises an important question. Why? Like, why does God leave us here? I mean, have you ever wondered that? Like, if heaven is our home, if Jesus has saved us, if our future is secure, why doesn't God just go ahead and take us on to heaven the moment that we become Christians? Like, why does He leave us here? Why leave us in a world that's broken, in a world that has people that reject Him, in a world where we experience suffering?
2:55 Why leave us in a world that often celebrates things that God would say are wrong? Why? Well, I believe Peter actually gives us the answer. It's because we are here for a purpose. Guys, we're here for a purpose. We aren't just waiting for heaven. We're not just waiting on the time when Jesus comes back. We are here on assignment. God has called us to represent Him in a world that desperately, desperately needs Him. And that's what I wanna talk about today. Exiles have a different calling in a dark world. God didn't call us out of the world so that we could just escape the world. No, He called us to represent Jesus in the world.
3:41 And I wanna give you 3 things today that describe our calling as exiles. First, and probably the most important is this: exiles are called to Christ. This is so important for us to understand. Before God called us to do something, He's actually called us to Himself. Look at what Peter says in 1 Peter Chapter 2 verse 9. This is what it says. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession." And I wanna stop right there for just a minute. Peter is telling these believers who they are. "You are chosen. You are a royal priesthood. You are holy. You belong to God. You're His possession."
4:26 And then he tells them why, "That you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." And there's the word: God called you. He called you out of darkness and into His light. He called you into a relationship with Himself. And I think sometimes we get this backward, don't we? Like, we spend so much time asking God, you know, "God, what do you want me to do? Like, what do you want me to do?" But what if before we ask what God wants us to do, we actually remember who God wants us to be? Because our first and greatest calling isn't to a job, isn't a ministry, a position, or a title.
5:15 Our first calling is actually to Jesus. God called us to Himself. He called us out of darkness and into His wonderful light. He called us from death to life, from sin to forgiveness. He called us from being separated from Him to being adopted into His family, and that's where everything begins. And that's important because your assignment can change. Your job can change, your career, your ministry. Your location can change. Even your responsibilities can change at times. But your calling, your calling to Jesus never, ever changes. Like, you belong to Him, right? And if we lose sight of that, we can get really, really confused about everything else.
6:04 Because sometimes we think our identity comes from what we do. Like I'm a pastor or I'm a teacher, I'm a student, I'm a businessman, I'm a parent, retired, volunteer, you know, whatever it is. But those are things that we do. They're not ultimately who we are. So before you're, you're anything else, you are God's. That's what Peter wants these exiles to understand, and that's what he wants us to understand. You're a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. You belong to Him, and because you belong to Him, you have a purpose. And Peter says you've been called out of darkness into His wonderful light.
6:52 I mean, think about your own story for just a minute. Maybe you grew up in church. I mean, maybe you didn't. Maybe you came to Jesus at an early age, or maybe it was later on in life when you came to know Him. Maybe you wandered for years and years and years before you found your way home. Maybe somebody invited you to church. Maybe there was somebody who shared the gospel with you. Maybe God used a difficult set of circumstances in your life. Maybe God used a friend, a parent, maybe a spouse. Maybe God used a tragedy in your life, or it could have been a sermon. However you got here, the story is ultimately the same.
7:36 Jesus is the one who called you. He called you out of darkness, and He called you into His light, and now your life is supposed to point people toward that very light. That's the first part of our calling, is that we are called to Christ. But Peter doesn't stop there, because when God calls you to Himself, He also calls you to represent Him. So the next one is this: exiles are called to represent Christ. That's what we're called to do. And Peter says that we are a royal priesthood, and that's an interesting phrase because a priest represents, right? I mean, a priest stands between God and people, and he's pointing people toward God.
8:20 And Peter says that's part of our identity as followers of Jesus. We are representatives. We represent our King. And again, I want you to think about this idea of an ambassador. An ambassador may live in another country for years and years. They may learn another language. They may eat the food. They may understand the culture. They may even develop friendships and live in a completely different environment, but they never forget who they represent. They never forget. They don't stop being who they are. You know, if you're an American, you don't stop being an American just because you're living in another country.
9:00 They don't change their allegiance because they're surrounded by another culture. They're there on assignment, and that's a pretty good picture of the Christian life. So I want you to get this. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are here on assignment. This world isn't our home, but God has strategically placed us here. Wherever God has placed you, He's given you an opportunity to represent Him. Your workplace is much more than just a place where you earn money or you earn your paycheck. It's a place where people can see how your faith affects the way that you live, the way that you work, and the way you treat other people.
9:43 The same is true in our neighborhoods or our schools, our families, our friendships. These aren't simply places that we just happen to be, but they're relationships and environments where God can use your life to point people toward Jesus Christ. They're opportunities to represent Jesus. Like, listen, you don't have to stand up here on a stage to be on mission. You don't have to work for a church to be in ministry. You don't always have to wear a Christian T-shirt. You don't have to carry your Bible all the time, although those are all good things to do. But you do need to live like somebody who belongs to Jesus Christ.
10:24 That's why Peter says in 1 Peter 2:9, "That you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." In other words, you've got a story to tell. You've got a story to tell. You know what Jesus has done for you. You know what He's brought you through. You know how He's changed you and how He's forgiven you and how He's carried you along the way. You know how He's answered your prayers. You know how faithful He's been. And your life actually becomes a testimony to the goodness of God. Now, sometimes we think that declaring the praises of God means standing up in front of a crowd and preaching, and it certainly can.
11:12 But sometimes the loudest sermon that you'll ever preach is by the way that you live your life, and live it faithfully. How you respond to somebody who mistreats you, how you handle disappointment, how you treat the people that can't do anything for you, how you respond when somebody disagrees with you, how you handle your successes and your failures, how you conduct yourself when nobody's watching. All of those things, all of those things say something about the God that you belong to. And that's why Peter says in 1 Peter 2:12, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God."
12:01 Did you notice what Peter doesn't say? He doesn't say, "Get away from them." He says, "Live among them." I think that's important because sometimes Christians misunderstand what it means to be in exile. What we think being different means separating ourselves from everyone who doesn't believe like we do. But Peter doesn't say leave the world. He says we live among them. Like, we're actually called to be in the world without becoming of the world. We're called to live differently without becoming disconnected from the true vine. So we're called to love people without compromising the truth. We're called to be faithful to Jesus while still being present in the lives of people who don't yet know Jesus.
12:49 Because really, how are people going to hear about the light if we refuse to go anywhere near the darkness? I mean, think about Jesus. Jesus was perfect, and He was holy, yet He spent time with people who weren't. He ate with the sinners. He talked with the outsiders. He cared for broken people. I mean, He went where hurting people were, but He never, ever compromised who He was, and that's our calling. We're called not to hide from the world, but we're called to represent Jesus in the world. All right. Number 3 is this: exiles are called to live differently even when it costs us. And this is where Peter gets really practical because representing Jesus, it isn't always easy.
13:45 I mean, living differently sounds good until being different actually costs us something. It's easy to talk about following Jesus when everybody around us agrees with us. The real test comes when obedience actually puts us in an uncomfortable position. Peter's readers, they knew exactly what that felt like. Their faith had actually already made them outsiders, and Peter isn't preparing them for a life where everybody just sits there and applauds their convictions. No. You know, he's teaching them how to remain faithful when following Jesus actually becomes costly. So Peter tells us what to do. So let's look at 1 Peter 2:15.
14:32 Says, "For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people." And I think that's interesting. Peter's answer is really surprisingly simple. He says, "Do good." Don't allow the accusations of others to determine the kind of person that you become, but let your conduct tell the story. Like, there are gonna be things that you could argue about. There could be battles that you could fight and accusations that you could spend time defending, but Peter gives these believers a better response. He says, "Keep doing what is right." That's what he says. "Keep doing what is right."
15:21 This is so very important. Peter doesn't tell them to win every argument or to prove that everybody else is wrong. He just says, "Do good, and let your life speak." And then Peter takes it even further in 1 Peter 2:21 when he says, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." And there it is again. You were called. You were called to follow Jesus Christ. And Peter says that Jesus actually left us an example, and then he describes what Jesus did in 1 Peter 2:22-23. It says, "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.
16:14 Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." Think about what Peter is saying. Jesus was mistreated, He was insulted, He was falsely accused, rejected. Jesus suffered greatly. And what did He do? He didn't retaliate. He didn't seek revenge. He actually entrusted Himself to God. And Peter says to follow in His steps. That's a different calling. Think about how different Jesus' way is from our natural response. Like when we hurt, our instinct is to usually make sure that the other person feels some of what we felt, at least some of it. Well, Jesus takes us another direction. He teaches us to forgive rather than to retaliate, to bless rather than to return insults, and to trust God with the outcome rather than taking matters into our own hands.
17:25 That's what Peter means when he tells us to follow in His steps. He's not simply giving us a better set of behaviors. No, he's inviting us to become more like Jesus Christ. Because the world says to get even, whereas Jesus says to forgive. The world says to return the insults, but Jesus says to bless people. The world would say, "Make them pay," but Jesus says, "Love your enemies." The world says, "Look out for yourself," whereas Jesus says to serve others. The world says, "If somebody hurts you, you hurt them." And then Jesus says, "Trust God with the outcomes." That is different. That is so different than what we see in our world today.
18:14 And Peter knows. Peter knows that this is hard. That's why he points us to Jesus. Because sometimes you don't need just another principle, right? You need a person to follow. And Peter says, "Look at Jesus. Look at how He responded, how He treated people. Look at how He suffered. Look at how He handled injustice. Look at how He trusted His Father." And then he says, "Follow in His steps." Well, if we're to follow in His steps, then what does that look like? What does it look like? So let's bring this down into everyday life. What does it actually mean to have a different calling in a dark world? Well, it means something like this, that when gossip starts, you don't have to become part of the conversation.
19:07 Like when somebody's being torn down, you have an opportunity to bring grace into the room. Like when you're tempted to cut corners because it seems like everybody else does, you choose integrity. And when the culture around you is constantly asking, "What's in it for me?" You begin asking a different question, "How can I serve?" That's what it means to live as an exile. It's choosing a different response because you've been changed by Jesus Christ. And listen, you don't have to be perfect, and you certainly ought not think that you're better than anybody else. In fact, we're reminded every single day of how much we need God's grace ourselves.
19:55 But because Jesus is changing us, there's something different about the way that we respond to people, the way we handle pressures and deal with conflict, the way we go through life. We're not trying to fit in. We're trying to faithfully represent the one who we belong to. And here's why this matters. It's because there are people that are watching. Your life may actually be the closest thing to Jesus that someone encounters this week. Think about the people that God has placed just around you. Your coworkers may never, ever read 1 Peter. Your neighbor may never read their Bible. Your friend may never walk through the doors of a church.
20:45 But I promise you, they will see you. They'll see how you respond when things don't go your way. They'll notice how you handle the pressures of life and how you treat people during those difficult times. They'll notice what happens when there's hurt in your life or you become disappointed. And over time, those everyday moments begin to tell a story about what your faith really means to you. And what Peter says is Peter says, "Live such good lives among the pagans that they may see your good deeds and glorify God." That's so powerful because our goal isn't to make people admire us. Our goal is actually to make Jesus visible to the people around us.
21:37 Here's another thought that I want to make sure you hear today. Don't waste your assignment. Don't waste your assignment because this life is temporary. Your time is limited. You know, Peter calls us temporary residents and foreigners, and that means our time here matters even more because it's temporary. You know, it makes me think about, like, a military deployment. Like, when somebody goes away for deployment, they know they're not going to be out there forever. But while they're there, their assignment matters, right? Like they don't say, "Well, you know, I'm only going to be here for a year or so, so none of this really matters."
22:20 No, they don't think that because they're there for a purpose and to fulfill a purpose, and that's us too. We're only here for a very limited amount of time, and James says that our life is like a mist. It appears for a little while, and then it just disappears. So what are we going to do with the time that God has given to us? Are we going to spend our lives simply trying to become comfortable, or are we going to live our life on mission? Are we going to spend all of our energy protecting our comfort once we get it, or are we going to invest in people? Are we going to spend our lives trying to fit in, or are we going to represent Jesus Christ?
23:04 Because one day, one day we're going home. One day Jesus is going to return. One day this temporary assignment, it'll be over. And when that happens, I don't want to look back and think, "Well, I wish I'd done more with the opportunity that God had given me." No, I want to know for sure that I was faithful. I want to know for sure that I loved people. I want to know that I shared Jesus with the people that I came into contact with. I want to know for sure that I invested in people. Like, I want to know that I represented my King well. Because listen, our calling is bigger than us, much bigger than us. And here's the beautiful thing about what Peter is saying.
23:56 God isn't asking you to change the entire world. No, He's asking you to be faithful where He has placed you. Your assignment may look very different from somebody else's. Like, you may have a classroom full of students, maybe a business with employees, or a house full of children, a small circle of friends, or maybe even a quiet life where most of your influence happens behind the scenes. You may have a large platform, or you may have just a limited platform with just a handful of people. But I want you to understand something. None of that, none of that changes the significance of your calling. What matters is that you recognize the people that God has placed around you, and you take seriously the opportunity that He's given to you to represent Jesus to them.
24:54 You don't have to wait for a bigger platform. You don't have to wait until you have more influence. You don't need to become somebody else before God can actually use you. No, start where you are. Get to know Jesus, represent Him well, live like Him, and help other people see who Jesus really is, because that is what exiles do. So let's go back to where we started. Why are we still here? Why hasn't Jesus taken us home yet? It's because we're not done. God still has people that He wants us to reach. There are people around us who need to experience His love and to hear the gospel and to see what a transformed life really looks like and discover what it means to follow Jesus.
25:52 And somehow, in His wisdom, God has chosen to make us part of that story. God has chosen to use you. That's what makes our time here so significant. God didn't call us out of darkness simply to sit comfortably in the light. He called you so that His light could shine through your life. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, verse 14, "You are the light of the world." Not just the light in your church, but you're the light of the world. So the darker the world becomes, the more important it is that we live faithfully. And I believe that's why this message matters so much right now, because we don't need Christians who simply complain about how dark the world is.
26:50 No, we need followers of Jesus who shine. We don't need Christians who spend all their energy talking about what's wrong with the culture. No, we need followers of Jesus who show the culture what's right about Jesus Christ. We don't need Christians who retreat. We need exiles who faithfully represent their king. So this week, wherever you go, remember who you are. You're an exile. You are a citizen of heaven, you are a child of God, you are a representative of Jesus Christ, and you have a calling. You are called to Christ because Jesus is your king. You are called to represent Christ because your life is a testimony, and you are called to live differently even when it costs you because you follow in His steps.
27:54 And sometimes that calling will be pretty easy, and sometimes it will be extremely difficult. Sometimes people will appreciate it, and sometimes they won't. Sometimes you'll be celebrated, and other times you'll be misunderstood. Sometimes doing the right thing will cost you something. But never forget, Jesus is worth it, and one day our exile will be over. One day we'll be home. One day we'll be able to see Jesus face to face, and until then, we've got an assignment, so don't waste it. But let's help people experience life with Jesus as we make disciples, love our communities, and change the world. And wherever God has placed you, represent your king well, because this world isn't our home, but it is our mission field.
28:59 Would you pray with me today? God, thank you so much for how you challenge us in your Word. This message in particular has been extremely challenging to me. This idea of calling, that you've called us to something bigger, something better, something that will far outlast us, this really speaks to my heart. And my prayer today is that you would stir the hearts of your people, that you would allow us to get excited about what it is you've called us to do, and that we would represent you so well with our lives. So today my prayer is that we would fully surrender and submit our lives to you, understanding that this world is not our home, but that we are exiles.
30:05 Yes, we live here, we serve here, we care for people here, we follow Christ here, but this is not where our eternity lies. If we are followers of Jesus Christ, our eternity is in heaven. That's where we belong, and we will be there one day. But while we're here, we've got an assignment, and that is to do what you have called us to do. And that begins not by doing, but by being in relationship with you. And I pray that we don't get this order wrong, 'cause so often it seems like we get this out of order, and it really does mess things up. Help us to understand that we are called to your Son, Jesus Christ, first and foremost, and everything that we do then flows out of that relationship.
31:00 So if you've neglected your relationship with Jesus Christ, now's the time to rekindle it. And if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, now is the time to start. Give your life to Jesus Christ. Trust in Him and follow after Him with everything in you. And I believe that God will begin to change your life in a way that you would never expect, but it will be better than you ever imagined. Not easier. There will definitely be challenges, but it will be better because you are doing what you've been called to do. So God, we thank you for your challenge, and we thank you for the invitation that you give to us to be in relationship with you and to have purpose with our lives.
31:45 We love you and we praise you. It's in the name of Jesus we pray. And everybody said, "Amen."