Sheryl Brady - The Process of the Priesthood

I want to talk today about 1 Peter 2:9, and the scripture says, «But you are…» We discussed this last week: «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.» Spirit of the Living God, have Your way in this room today. Bless this food that we are about to eat. In Jesus' name, somebody shout Amen! On your way down, touch somebody and tell them, «The process of the priesthood.» The process of the priesthood! You are a chosen generation! We’ve been talking for the last few weeks about our shape. Is there anybody here who is taking that seriously and beginning to get into your shape? Not getting into shape, but getting into the shape that God has created you to be in. We’ve been discussing that along with our identity. Last week, I talked about our identity in Christ. We read from 1 Peter 2:9, just like we did today. In that particular passage, God tells us four things that we are, one thing that we must do, and then He gives us two reasons why we are to do it—all in one verse. He said, number one, «You are a chosen generation.» Number two, «You are a royal priesthood.» Number three, «You are a holy nation.» Now, before you are a peculiar people—peculiar means that you are a people who have been purchased by God to be preserved by Him. You have been purchased by God to be preserved by God. The one thing He tells us that we must do in that passage is to celebrate and proclaim the praises of our God. Why does He say that? Because, number one, He called us out of darkness, out of blindness, out of ignorance, and out of immorality. He called us out of a state of being unable to see, to know where to put our foot next. He called us out of all of those things, and when He calls you out of something, He always calls you into something. So, He called us out of that so that He could call us into His marvelous light, which speaks of knowledge, divine understanding, and having the mind of Christ. He called us out of darkness so that we could walk in His marvelous light. I told you last week that when He called us and when we became born-again believers, we also became kings and priests unto God. I told you what a priest does: A priest represents God to man and represents man to God. For those of us who might be struggling to understand our shape, our destiny, our identity, and our purpose, being a priest unto God is something we should be clear on. So, if you don’t have a clear idea of what God has called you to do or what He has assigned you to do, take this from the scripture: One of the sure things He has called you to do is to be a priest unto God. Because of that, I think it is important that we understand what the scripture says regarding our position as priests. Just kind of shake yourself, look at your neighbor, and say, «You’re sitting next to a priest!» The whole purpose of the priesthood was to provide a mediator between God and men. The one thing you can be certain about God is that He always wants to be connected to His people. That is why trying to separate someone from God is one of the worst things in the world you could ever attempt to do because God is going to hold you accountable for that. He has always longed to be with His people, and that is why, when sin separated us from Him, He immediately established the priesthood. The priesthood then became the pipeline through which, despite our sins, failures, and mistakes, we could still have access to Him through the priesthood. The first priests were patriarchal, and during the patriarchal period, the head of each household—I’m referring to men particularly today, but if you are a woman and the head of your household, I’m speaking to you too—was responsible for mediating on behalf of his family. It was the father’s duty to ensure that those in his family were connected and in fellowship with God. Fathers in the house knew God and recognized His voice, and the children knew that their fathers recognized God’s voice. They referred to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The children trusted God because their fathers did; they hoped in God because their fathers hoped in God. You have to tell your children who to hope in, who to turn to, and who to pray to. If you don’t guide them in whom to talk to, the world will.