Living Hope! - 1 Peter 1:3 Series

1 Peter 1:3 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.

Introduction: How Would a $400 Million Inheritance Affect You?

I got an email from Brett Forbes from Afghanistan last week. He said a buddy of his just got word that he is inheriting 20% of an estate. The estate is worth 2 billion dollars. So 20% comes out to $400 million. What kind of impact would it make on your emotions right now if you got word that you just inherited $400 million? What impact would it have on your thoughts – would you be a little preoccupied? No matter how hard you tried to focus on what is going on here at church, how could you keep from being preoccupied with thoughts like, Lord, what do You want me to do with all that money? After you bought whatever house you want and whatever cars you want and went on whatever vacations you want – that would not even touch the fringes of that much money. Even if you just invested it, and never touched a dime of the $400 million, if you got a 10% return on your investment and just lived off that, that would be over $110,000 per day that you would have to spend just to spend the interest. That is $3.3 million a month. I am guessing, if you got news like that right when the service started, you would be a little distracted during the sermon.

Our Inheritance

Look down at verse 4. Do you see that word, inheritance? Peter is going to give us news of an inheritance that we really are going to get, that is greater than that $2 billion estate. It is greater in every way. It is more valuable, more satisfying, more joy-giving, longer-lasting, better in every way. Most of it comes when we get to heaven, but even in this life we get huge dividends from it. Not everyone receives this inheritance, but if you are one of the few who does receive it, the benefits you get even in this life are massive. For one thing you get nothing less than the Holy Spirit, who guides you, teaches you, comforts you, strengthens you, sanctifies you, keeps you company, unlocks the treasure house of the Holy Scriptures through enlightenment, and gives you joy. On top of that you get cleansing and forgiveness of sins. This inheritance includes spiritual gifts and a high calling in His glorious kingdom.

And in the next life – untold glories. Every pleasure in this life is a sample. If you get this inheritance, then after the resurrection, you will have a new, glorified, imperishable, physical body, and you will live on a new earth – a new, redeemed, improved version of this earth. It will be a physical place with sights and sounds and tastes and sensations. All the best recreation in this world is enjoyable only because it is a sample of what that world will be like. This world’s version of football games and whitewater rafting and skiing and hiking and hunting and fishing and marital pleasures and watching movies and Christmas morning and family get-togethers and extra spending money and really cool cars and great achievements and secluded, pristine beaches – all pale in comparison to the new versions of those things in the new earth. And best of all, in the new earth those things will never be in competition with enjoyment of God like they are here. In this world, we are constantly tempted to turn those things into idols and enjoy them instead of enjoying God. And it is hard work to learn how to enjoy them as part of our enjoyment of Him. But in the new earth that will not be a problem. There will be no such thing as enjoyment of anything that is not part of our worship and enjoyment of God, which means everything we ever do will increase our love for God. Every day all day forever, every pleasure we indulge in will do nothing but increase our love for God and improve our worship.

So how do you get that inheritance? It is just like any inheritance – you get it by being born into the right family. It is something you are born into.

3 … In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope …4 and into an inheritance