Embracing Our Identity as a Kingdom of Priests

Too often worship has become reduced to sitting in chairs on Sunday morning or church pews watching someone else relate to God on our behalf. It's become passive, it's become something something that we consume and not something that we contribute to. This approach wildly misses the mark. Worship isn't a product, it's not a performance. Worship is participation and as we're going to talk about this morning worship is priesthood. [00:50:38] (35 seconds)  #ActiveWorshipParticipation

It's through the dust of the earth and the breath of God that man becomes the living intersection between heaven and earth. We because of the breath of God are the one a part of his creation that can have relationship with him and be connected in which we serve holding on to both the dust of the earth the creative work of God and being in relationship with the spirit and the holiness of God that is worship. [00:51:57] (28 seconds)  #LivingIntersectionOfHeavenAndEarth

But to fully step into that identity we have to embrace something that many of us maybe have never really considered before and that is that we are priests more specifically we are a kingdom of priests. [00:53:35] (16 seconds)  #KingdomOfPriests

Now because of the the work that Christ has done on the cross we are now the temple the tabernacle the very home or meeting place where God resides we are now a walking breathing tabernacle and this is made possible as we see through the torn veil when Jesus dies on the cross the very the very item the veil that represented the separation of a holy God God and a sinful people that veil has been torn and no longer is a barrier that keeps us from being able to relate and worship directly with God. [01:00:28] (38 seconds)  #WalkingTabernacle

Peter says to the church you are living stones something that moves you are a holy priest you are a royal priesthood so that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness this isn't a metaphor this isn't an acute saying or statement trying to describe god's presence in us this is our identity it is our priestly calling. [01:01:26] (31 seconds)  #RoyalPriesthoodIdentity

A priest's first ministry is to God because that is what we were made for. When we lose sight of this and our ministry to man becomes our primary focus, we are no longer living as priests, but only do -good philanthropists. [01:10:05] (16 seconds)  #PriestsSpeakLife

The final thought that God speaks into the responsibility of a priest is that priests speak life over others. They are called to bless the people. Now we should understand that biblical blessing is more than just saying something that will make somebody else feel good. A biblical blessing serves as a catalyst for the destiny of people's lives. It's an ingredient that causes change and calls the future into being. [01:10:39] (30 seconds)  #BlessingCallsDestiny

What would happen if every single believer in our community lived like a priest? If we carried his presence, if we ministered to him first, if we blessed others like it actually made a difference. I'll tell you what would happen. We would experience God's presence in the church again. Revival would break out, and our community around us would transform. That would be a radical difference in the way that we live. But one, it starts with one thing. It starts by accepting our role as priest of the Most High God. [01:13:09] (38 seconds)  #EmbracePriestlyCalling

Accept that you are a priest. Accept that you are chosen. And accept that you're called. Accept that this biblical instruction and calling, the original plan of God to be a kingdom of priests applies to you. And with that, I want to invite you to a bold step of faith forward. A bold step to be anointed in your priestly identity and calling. Understand, this is not, we're not talking about vocational pastoring. We're talking about the identity that he has called the kingdom of his people as living stones, as a holy people, as a kingdom of priests. [01:14:00] (48 seconds)