You always have hope
1Peter 1:3-12
Introduction-
1 Peter 1:3-12
Hope is a funny thing
When you have it, you feel like you are on top of the world.
When you do not have it, you feel like the world is on top of you.
Peter, the writer of this book under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, shows us about living hope and where it comes from.
Our hope comes from one source as a believer, Jesus Christ
It is not based on feelings but on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“In His great mercy, he has given us new birth into living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Peter is the most prominent disciple of Jesus.
He was the first to confess “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
He was one of the inner circle of disciples that was at the Transfiguration. He watched Jesus ascend and that the Holy Spirit would descend to dwell in mankind.
He prayed with Jesus at Gethsemene. As Jesus set up his death and resurrection.
Angel of the Lord appeared at the empty tomb and told the women to report the resurrection to “His disciples and Peter”
I can relate to Peter for different reasons
Peter had good intentions but denied Jesus three times.
Peter was always ready to react before he thought.
We can see his human side, and his definite need for Jesus as savior.
Peter, put his foot in his mouth a lot of times.
( we must understand that our hope is in Jesus Christ. Our hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.)
Peter’s writing offered hope to the Gentile audience.
He offers hope for us , those that call upon the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
He says our inheritance wont spoil, perish, and that hope comes by faith placed in Jesus Christ.
Faith that is of more worth than gold, though on this earth, it is refined by fire so that it can be proved genuine and may result in praise and honor of Jesus.
I think all of us hold out expectation and hope in life. Some work out, some do not. But without expectation and hope, we would not get far in life.
Without Jesus, there is no hope. No hope, we are hopeless.
Without faith, hope, expectation, we cannot please God either.
Hebrews 11:6-
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
Someone said-
“There are no hopeless situations, there are only people who have grown hopeless about them”
Let that sink in
I was at a district meeting in Philly Monday and talking to a fellow pastor who is going through a hard time. I said, “Can’t is not proper English, and we don’t use that word at Rosedale
I thought about that. That’s good stuff. Must of come from the Lord.
(V3-4)
“In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into a inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for you.”
Illustration (Sermoncentral)
A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked the boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded 18 to nothing Were behind. I’ll bet your disappointed said the spectator. Why should I be discouraged, replied the boy. We haven’t even gotten to bat yet.”
That is expectation. That is positive hope. That is desiring to beat the odds.
We cannot put our trust in man, in ourselves, but have a living hope in Jesus Christ.
The one who had given us new birth because of the resurrection.
Do you hear that this morning
Take your eyes off the circumstance and put it on the living hope.
“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest”
Jesus is the hope, and He will give you rest.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”
Jesus is the hope, He will give you abundant life.
Make it personal this morning-
“I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.
Someone said-
“Life without Christ is a hopeless end ,but with Christ, it is endless hope.”
We do not need to lose hope-
This passage is about radical hope
To the single mom- there is hope.
To the person needing a job- there is hope.
To the one fighting addictions- there is hope.
The theme throughout this letter is hope.
1. Contrast between perishable things of earth and the imperishable things of heaven.
2. Blessings and happiness to the one who does not see, and yet believes in Christ.
3. Belief of our Christian experience and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
There are two things I hope you walk away with this morning.
1. Jesus Christ is our living hope.
2. The inheritance we have as believers.
How does that hope play out in our lives? Write down
I. Hope should transform our lives.
It comes from God- not man, you cannot earn it.
His mercies are new every day.
His word is true.
His promises are sure.
Our first birth, we were sinners, we grew up rebellious. We could not please God. Our new birth, (resurrection of Christ for our sins.) We are children of God. We can please God.
Transformation.
II. Our hope is in Jesus Christ not circumstances.
Your current circumstance does not define who you are.
The pain of the circumstances will not last forever.
Realize the context of this letter, Peter is writing to the persecuted Christians- believers suffering for Christ.
“We often tend to regard Christ suffering as a means by which we escape suffering. He suffered for us, so we will not have to suffer. This idea does not come from the New Testament church.
It is possible to have great hope in the midst of great trails and pains- because the hope is in Jesus Christ.
III. Christ resurrection gives hope of our resurrection.
Christ hope is not just wishful thinking.
Optimistic thinking for the future.
Christian hope is alive because Jesus Christ is alive.
Jesus Christ has destroyed the power of death for the believer.
There is a parallel between new birth and Jesus resurrection.
Romans 8:11
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”Our past, present, and future intersect in Jesus.
This hope Christ gives does not back down in the face of death, persecution, or hardship. This hope is living, not only because it lives on in the face of difficult circumstances, but because it gives life to those who hope.
Recap
Hope should transform.
Hope is in Jesus Christ, not circumstances.
Understanding your inheritance
Do you really understand who you are in Christ?
What your inheritance is as a child of God.
(V4) inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade- kept in heaven for you.
(V5) who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the time.
(don’t race bye this )
Your eternal inheritance is guarded by the power of God in heaven by our faith in Jesus Christ
.
Those persecuted Christians Peter told them- you are being protected by the power of God through your faith in the resurrected Christ.
Church (V8-9)
“Though you have seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with the inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your soul”
Closing
Christian hope does not rest on mankind, it rests on God alone.
Christ is the only one who offers hope that is incorruptible and will never fade away.
Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ- there is no hope.
Our hope is anchored in the one that is alive for evermore.
“My hope is build on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.”
“On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all, I say all, other ground is sinking sand.”
He (Jesus) brought me out of the miry clay. He set my feet on the rock to stay, He puts a song in my soul today.”
That is where our hope comes from.
I don’t know what your going through, but I do know who you should be putting yoiur trust and hope in.
Jesus saves- Jesus is still out hope- Jesus is where you put your trust.
We can have radical faith and hope.
Illustration
A Philosopher of earlier in this century, Bertrand Russell was an outspoken atheist, he even wrote a book called why I am not a Christian. When he was 81 years old, he was interviewed on a radio talk show. The interviewer asked him what he had to hang onto when death was obviously so close. “I have nothing to hang unto but grim, unyielding despair.”
What a sad way to end your life, with no hope of a future.
I would rather think like this little boy.
Illustration-
A little boy was crossing the ocean with his father who was the captain of the ship. They ran into a terrible storm that tossed the ship around like a cork. Everyone was afraid, but the boy sat perfectly still with his eyes directed toward a certain spot. Someone asked him if he was afraid and he said, “I have my eyes on that little window, and through that window I can see the bridge, and on that bridge is my father. My father is the captain of this ship and he has taken it through many storms.”
Altar Call
