The Hope of Easter
I Peter 1:3-5
I. Introduction
a. Evangelism Linebacker Video
b. Now that is what I call gentle, positive reinforcement.
c. Now that is a funny video… but there is some truth involved there…
i. It seems like Easter has shifted from celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to being all about the bunny… “that’s not funny, cause it’s nots about the bunny!”
d. So what is Easter all about? Why do we gather here to celebrate this day?
e. Obviously, we are celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
f. But I think we should not forget this very important principle… Easter is a bout HOPE!
g. Turn with me to I Peter 1:3-5
i. “3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
h. This morning I want you to know that because Jesus is no longer in that grave… because He came bursting forth in life on that third day we CAN have hope!
i. Does anybody in here need some hope this morning?!
j. I know that the majority of you sitting out there this morning have felt the sting of hopelessness at some point in your life.
i. Maybe you’ve experienced hopelessness because of trials in your life that were beyond your control… victims of abuse… sickness… loss of job… divorce!
ii. Maybe you’ve experienced hopelessness because of failures in your life… careers that didn’t pan out… rebellious children who’ve gone astray… addictions that have trapped you.
iii. Maybe you’ve simply come to the realization that all pursuits in this life apart from God are void.
k. Irregardless… we all know, to some degree, what this feels like!
l. But this morning, in the words of our pastor… I’ve got GREAT NEWS! There is hope and of all days… Easter brings such a hope into our lives.
m. But how do we experience this hope? How can we have, not a dead hope… but a LIVING HOPE?
n. That is what we are going to talk about this morning.
o. We can have this living hope by…
II. Trusting in His Grace!
a. 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
b. II Thessalonians 2:16-17 – “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”
c. Why are so many living in despair? Because they have failed to trust in the grace of God!
d. You know who I believe were the most miserable people in all of Scriptures… the most hopeless of all… The Pharisees!
e. You see, the Pharisees had this concept when it came to life after death… If I can be good enough… If I can go to temple enough times, carry out every ritual, say the right things, dress the right way, memorize enough scripture… if can act holy enough, then I’ll make it.
i. And so their whole lives they are chasing after a standard that they can never obtain.
ii. Romans 3:23 tells us this, “For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
iii. This word “sin” was an archery term and it meant “to miss the mark!”
iv. And this verse tells us that we ALL have missed the mark… what is this mark? It is the holiness of God… it is a standard of perfection that God holds for Himself and NONE of us in here have come even close to meeting that standard!
f. Yet still today many believe that if they can be a good enough person… if they can go to church enough… if they can pray enough, read the bible enough, look holy enough…. Then they’ll be ok!
i. But guys the Scripture is clear… we can NEVER be good enough!
ii. I always tell our youth, true Christian faith is not a religion it is a personal relationship… and we can only have this personal relationship when we fall totally and completely in the arms of grace!
g. You know, believers in Christ can still fall into this rut as well!
i. Don’t raise your hand… but if I asked all those in here this morning who are believers in Christ if they have ever messed up big time… I know for a fact hands would go up all around this room.
ii. My hand would be the first one up and the highest raised… because quite frankly I’ve messed up big time, even as a believer, even as a pastor!
iii. And to be quite honest… I’ve felt the sting of despair and the lack of hope b/c of my failures!
iv. How can I… how can you… how can we restore our hope and joy… by falling in the arms of Grace!
v. You say, “but Rob… you don’t know what I’ve done! You don’t know how many times I’ve failed!”
vi. I can tell you guys this truth from Scripture…. Grace does not make sense… it is unmerited favor that God lavishes on those who believe!
1. I praise God this morning for the illogical nature of God’s grace… which led our Lord to the cross!
vii. A great example of this is how we dreaded our dad coming home when we’d messed up.
1. Some of you know what I’m talking about… you heard those words of doom… “just wait till your father comes home.”
2. You remember the thoughts… kinda like Ralphie in the Christmas story (maybe show clip)
3. I’ve been there… packing my bags b/c living in the wilderness was better than what dad was going to do to me.
4. We forget about the love of our parents… we forget also about God’s amazing love for us.
h. What does this have to do with Easter… it has everything to do with Easter!
i. When Christ rose from the dead… He completed the victory over death and sin that made amazing grace possible!
ii. He said “Booyah!” to death!!!!
III. Allowing His Transformation!
a. 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
b. Hope can be found in new life!
c. Jesus said in John 10:10 – “The thief comes to steal and destroy, but I have come to that they may have life and have life abundant!”
d. When trust in the Grace of God for our salvation and THEN begin to allow God to transform us, we find a renewed hope.
e. There are a lot of Christians who are out there without hope because they have stunted their spiritual growth.
f. II Corinthians 5:17 was a life changing verse for me… it says, “For if any man is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.”
g. At the time of reading that verse… I was not the reflection of a new creation!
i. Not b/c God was not trying to work in my life, but b/c I was not letting Him.
ii. I was so concerned with my desires and with my plans, that I was missing the biggest blessing of all and that is the blessing of Christ’s transformation!
h. Allowing His transformation is not an easy thing to do… it involves sacrifice… it involves letting go of ourselves!
i. As a coach, this is one of the most difficult things to communicate to my athletes… trust me!
i. But when an athlete begins to learn the value of sacrifice… physically and sometimes socially… then they begin to enjoy the benefits of this work!
j. I know for a fact that the times in my walk with Christ that I have felt hopelessness have been because I’ve wanted to do things my way… I’ve not wanted to sacrifice… I’ve wanted to be comfortable!
i. But comfort does not always equal joy!
k. One way to allow His transformation is to quit covering the problem up in your lives.
l. God cannot transform what you never bring into the light.
i. When I was a kid, my older brother and I would sneek out to the club out to smoke cigarettes, b/c we thought that is was cool!
ii. The problem was my mom had a nose like a coon dog and she could smell that smoke on us a mile away.
iii. So we would take some breath mints for our breath and we would rub gasoline on us so that the stench of that gas would drown out the cigarette smoke smell.
iv. By God’s grace, I never got addicted to cigarettes… but my brother is a smoker to this day.
v. Transformation never took place in his life b/c he kept covering it up!
m. Guys… a shore fire way to stunt your spiritual growth is to cover up your struggles…
i. Confess them to God… find an accountability partner and begin to allow God to transform you!
n. Another essential to allowing this transformation to take place is to dive into God’s Word and to be with His people. (there are many… but these are essential)
i. We need the food of God’s Word and we need the encouragement of others to be transformed.
o. First, we have to trust God’s grace… but then we’ve got let Him work in our lives!
IV. Anticipating His Return!
a. This is where it gets good!!!!
i. “3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
b. What is the ultimate hope that emerges from the resurrection?!
i. That my Lord is coming back for me!
c. I’m here to tell you today… Budda is not coming back for his disciples… he’s in a grave… Mohammad is not coming bak for his disciples… he’s in a tomb… BUT my God is coming back for me for He is ALIVE!
d. If that does not give you hope when the despairs of life come crashing down on you, then nothing will!
e. Listen to what Peter is saying here… what lies ahead for those who fall into the arms of God’s grace through Christ is an inheritance which will NOT fade away.
f. It amazes me how much stock we tend to put in storing up treasures here on earth.
i. Gold pavement joke!
ii. Revelations 21:21 tells us that heaven has streets of pure gold!
iii. Guys, I’ve never seen a U-haul behind a hearse!
1. In fact, often the earthly inheritance we leave often becomes a stumbling block to our families that leads to family dissention.
g. Why are we living that which will not last, when God has promised us an inheritance that knows no end?!
h. When our investments don’t work out… when we suddenly lose our job… when financial tragedy hits… the believer in Christ, who is simply anticipating Christ’s return can have joy!
i. We begin to experience this living hope when we starting living for the eternal… when we anticipate His return!
j. What does that look like practically?
i. That could be a sermon in itself!
ii. But you can ask yourself some defining questions…
1. How am I investing my time?
a. Am I spending adequate time with my family?
b. Am I mentoring a young man on woman in the faith?
2. How am I investing my energy?
a. Would I rather watch a ball game or lead a family devo? OUCH on my part!
3. How am I spending my money?
a. Would I rather have a new TV or support a church planter like Mike Parker by giving to the Annie Armstrong offering?
k. Answer those questions and see if you are anticipating His return.
V. Conclusion
a. How will you obtain a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ this Easter?
b. For the non-believer… will this Easter be especially hope filled for you b/c this Easter you throw your life totally into Christ for the first time?
c. For the believer… will you trust His grace this morning… will you stop stunting your transformation by covering up sin in your life?
d. Will you commit to live for His return… live like it is tomorrow!
