Life gives us plenty of reasons for despair, doesn’t it? When disappointment comes, I sometimes think about a quote: “It doesn’t matter how far you fall, but how high you bounce.” Once, I shared the first part with someone hoping they would finish the last part and end up being encouraged. I said, “It doesn’t matter how far you fall…” I waited and they finished, “…but how far down you go!” It’s sort of like those roadrunner cartoons where the coyote falls off a cliff and the impact creates a kind of grave.
That’s what happens to us when we don’t have hope. We crash and burn. We need hope. In fact, in the Bible, you’ll find three virtues grouped together: faith, hope, and love. I Thessalonians 5:8 tells us how to clothe ourselves for spiritual success. We are to “put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.” To survive and thrive in this world, we have to have hope!
Over the years at CVCC, I’ve shared another quote designed to express hope: “Our future’s so bright, I just gotta wear shades!” That’s what I want to talk to you today about - how God gives us a future and increases our hope.
Maybe you are losing hope. You’ve got a career decision to make and you’re not sure about the economic impact it will have on your family. Perhaps you are living in despair. You’ve tried everything you know how to try to patch up a relationship, but your spouse (or your child or a friend) is tearing your heart to pieces. God wants to give you hope this Easter morning! Or maybe you are struggling to be free from anger or pride or some addiction and it just seems like there’s no way out. God desires for you to have a future and a hope!
1 Peter
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -
kept in heaven for you,
5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
I Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)
We have a bright future with God if some things are true about us. I want to share with
you four big “ifs” for a bright future today.
Our future’s so bright we just gotta wear shades if…
I. God gives us His fresh start. v. 3a
In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope
New birth. The “bible scholar” word for it is “regeneration.” It’s a gracious, sovereign, and decisive work of God in the radical transformation of sinful people so that they become “new.” It is not living the old life in a new way, but entering into a new life. Regenerate people have a new spiritual vitality and direction in their lives. It’s a new birth, a fresh start.
I have found that when someone is pretty much satisfied with his or her life, then God’s offer to give a new birth isn’t too attractive. But most people who are satisfied with the status quo don’t really see themselves as God sees them. God offers all of us a new birth because we all need one. Notice the verse. It comes because of His mercy. Let’s not shut our minds and hearts to the power which can change us to be the best we can be.
The problem with so many of us is simply the fact that when Jesus Christ comes with his offer to change us and re-create us and give us a fresh start, we more or less say: "No thank you: I am quite satisfied with myself as I am and I don’t want to be changed."
No matter how much prestige we have or how good we are compared to others, we must see our desperate need for change. Ask yourself, “Could it be that in spite of my goodness and in spite of even my religion, I still have a spiritual need that must be addressed? Are you really deep down satisfied with your life?”
Educational seminars can’t really change a life. We all know well-educated fools. Government can’t change a life. Washington itself needs to be changed. Financial success can’t change a life. We all know that the pursuit and accumulation of wealth has ruined people.
Our fresh start comes as a gift from God. Look at verse three. The new birth is a gracious gift from God as a result of His mercy. We can’t make it happen. Something has to happen to us. It’s God’s free gift. That’s why we must cry out to God for His mercy and grace, “Please, God, blow Your winds of change across my life. Move me.” It’s a great lesson for people who have been brought up to believe that they can change themselves by keeping the rules of religion.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Have you ever really experienced God’s fresh start? If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Do you really love God? Do you really love His word? Do you love the people of God? Do you have a desire to serve Him through His church? Do you want others to know Him? Are you growing more loving, more joyful, more patient, more kind? Do you see yourself becoming more like Jesus? Do you want to do what God says?
How can I have the new birth? I want a fresh start. What can I do? We can do nothing except beg God for mercy. And we can pray that He will give us the grace to believe.
Our future’s so bright we just gotta wear shades if…
God gives us His fresh start.
II. We share in Jesus’ resurrection. v. 3b
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
I realize that some are here today who are, frankly, skeptical about this resurrection
business. “Come on. You don’t really believe that a dead man came back to life, do
you? Isn’t all this about Jesus just a myth like the stories about Hercules and all the
other Greek gods and goddesses? It’s nice story, but it’s not literally true.”
Let me be very clear. I believe that Jesus literally came back from the dead. If I didn’t
believe that, I’d quit this job and go do something else. He’s alive. It’s reasonable and
logical for us to believe that. You don’t have to stop thinking to be a believer. We don’t
have time to look at the facts about the resurrection in detail, but here are some of the high points.
1. Consider that the tomb was empty. Since the Jewish religious leaders and also the Romans wanted to stop Christianity, all they had to do was to find the body of Jesus, put it on a cart, and parade it through the streets of Jerusalem. Then the new religion would be over. But they didn’t and couldn’t. There was no body to be found. “No wonder,” you say, “the disciples stole the body.” I don’t think so…
2. Consider the changed lives of the disciples. They were all afraid after Jesus’ arrest
and during the crucifixion. Some fled. Peter denied even knowing Him. But soon after Jesus’ death, the disciples were telling everyone about Jesus, the Messiah. What turned these scared men into bold lions of the faith? In fact, they spoke out boldly that the resurrection really did happen even after being threatened. How many of you would die for a lie? Not me. And neither did they. They died for what they knew what happened. They had literally seen the Risen Lord.
Because Jesus is alive, hope is alive. God delights in making dead things come back to life. What’s dead for you today? Your finances, career, relationships, ministry? Resurrection power is available to everyone who knows Him personally!
For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection
Romans 6:5 (NASB)
Think with me. In Jesus’ physical body every member, every part of it suffered on the cross. And that will also be true of every member of His spiritual body, the church. We’ve been called to carry crosses and suffer for Him in this world. But through all the hurt and pain, His physical body was resurrected to glory and power. And in the same way, His spiritual body - the church - you and I - will come through the furnace of life’s trials with not so much as the smell of fire upon us. We have hope because we can live in resurrection power.
For my determined purpose is that I may know Him…
and the power outflowing from His resurrection…
Philippians 3:10 (AMP)
When Jesus rose up, our hope rose with Him!!
Our future’s so bright we just gotta wear shades if…
We share in Jesus’ resurrection.
III. We look forward to heaven. v. 4
4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -
kept in heaven for you,
When we experience the new birth, we are guaranteed an inheritance. Some of us might receive an earthly inheritance, but it won’t really satisfy. Hoping for a worldly inheritance is a dead end hope. We ought to be longing for heaven. The Bible says in I Peter 1:13, “Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” We have a heaven to look forward to!
Last week I asked you to write down some questions you had about heaven. I answer
these with a “loose grip.”
When Jesus comes back and believers are taken to heaven, will we be aware of those
who are left and will we be grieved by it? That’s really two questions. Will we be
aware of those who are left? Yes. In Luke 16, Jesus told a story about Father Abraham who was very aware of a rich man in hell. Yes, I think we’ll be aware of who’s not with us on heaven. Will we be grieved by that? No. Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…” Evidently, we will see things more clearly from God’s perspective. And we’ll see how He is glorified through a perfect display of His justice in His punishment of those who do not know Him. And we’ll bow in a glad submission to His will and His ways.
Will we know our spouses in heaven? Yes. I know some of you might want to forget you were married. But, I Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now I know in part, but then I will know fully.” We won’t know less there, but more. In fact, you’ll know and appreciate your spouse there better than ever. I’ve got to think there’ll be a uniqueness to your relationship to your spouse because of your shared lives together here.
Will we still be married? No. I think about my mom who lost her first husband, my dad, and then remarried. Which spouse would, she pick in heaven? Matthew 22:30 says, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
What will we do in heaven forever? Will we have to work in heaven?
Notice four things about our inheritance.
1. Heaven is a “no death” inheritance. Most everyone here knows the pain of losing someone we’ve loved. It will never happen in heaven. Verse four tells us our inheritance never perishes. That means “no decay, no destruction, no death.” The same word is used in I Corinthians 9:25, “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” It’s a “no death” inheritance.
2. Heaven is a “no defect” inheritance. If you’re like me, you’re tired of disappointing God and others, of not being the kind of person that you really want to be. Look again at verse four. Our inheritance will “never spoil.” That means “no flaws, no stains, no deformities, no impurities.” Heaven is uncontaminated by sin. I’m tired of mine and I bet you are tired of yours, too. That’s one reason I look forward to it. It’s a “no defect” inheritance.
3. Heaven is a “no fade” inheritance. Fresh flowers are something we enjoy each Easter. But eventually, they wither and fade in color. Not heaven. Nothing will dim it’s glory or tarnish its beauty. I Peter 5:4 uses a related word in writing to church leaders, “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” Heaven is a “no death,” “no defect,” “no fade” inheritance. But that’s not all…
4. Heaven is a “no fail” inheritance. Verse four tells us it’s “kept in heaven for you.” It’s guarded, taken care of, kept under watch. It’s being safely kept and preserved until we can possess it. No one can steal it. We can’t even lose it. It is under God’s watchful eye.
Heaven. A “no death - no defect - no fade - no fail” inheritance. No wonder we are told…
For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
who will transform the body of our humble state
into conformity with the body of His glory,
by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Philippians 3:20, 21 (NASB)
Our future’s so bright we just gotta wera shades if…
We look forward to heaven.
IV. We trust in God’s protective power. v. 5
5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
If you are the heir of an earthly inheritance, you are not necessarily guaranteed that you will live to enjoy it. But those who have the new birth are absolutely guaranteed that they will be safely led to enjoy what God has promised. True believers have eternal security. We are shielded by God’s power. That gives us a sure hope.
Jesus illustrates this in John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” That’s protection. We are protected in a “double-divine grip” - in the hand of Jesus and in the hand of the Father.
Look at the word “shielded.” It’s a word used to describe the work of a sentinel or military guard. In the original, it’s a present tense verb which means that God is always guarding and protecting true Christians to make sure we make it. Why? We are under attack from the enemy of our souls. But God’s protection guarantees our deliverance and victory.
I can trust Him!!
I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
2 Timothy 1:12 (NASB)
Our future’s so bright we just gotta wear shades if…
We trust in God’s protective power.
My dad - athletic, a slashing RB god eonugh to receive scholarship offers, resourceful, a wounded survivor of WWII, successful, an upwardly mobile businessman in Cincinnati, courageou, a smeinarian at 38 with no job security and a wife with three kids.
Uif anyone could hope because of his own ability, he could. But I saw him with cancer - flat on his back - a leg swolen and paralyzed - morphine cluding his mind - unable to feed himslef or clean himslef. He was frail. Those hans that spanked me, hugged me, caught the balls I threw were now limp.
He was powerless. Prayer became his onb;t expression of faith. “Father, I thank Thee for Thy love.” Even then, he was enjoying the security of his salvation. He knew he was protected by the power of God through faith. A few months before my daddy dies, I was memorizing the scripture for today. I sat down and wrote these words to him….
Four months later, he dies. But even as he lat dying, with no cahnce of recovery, he knew a living hope. His future was bright!
I don’t know why you are here today…
Maybe you just needed to be reminded that God delights in making dead things come back to life. He can do that for your marriage, for a child’s future, for your career. You are here because God wanted you to know that you can share in Jesus’ resurrection. Therefore, you can have hope.
Or maybe you are here because you needed to be reminded that you have a heaven to look forward to. You’re going through hard times right now. But this “ain’t all there is!” Heaven is your home. Therefore, you can have hope.
Or perhaps you are here because you need to know that you can trust in God’s protective power.
Or possibly you are here because you need the new birth, God’s fresh start.
Dear God,
I need hope. Give me a fresh start by forgiving my sins. I ask You to be my resurrected Savior! Help me to live in Your resurrection power. I am grateful for the hope of heaven. I put my trust in Your power. Fill me with your hope.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
