A REAL REASON FOR HOPE
1 Peter 1:3-12
Preached HPC Sept. 18, 2011
Introduction
A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "Eighteen to nothing--we’re behind."
"Boy," said the spectator, "I’ll bet you’re discouraged."
"Why should I be discouraged?" replied the little boy. "We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!"
I love the attitude expressed by the boy but it would seem that his hope might just be in vain.
Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.
G.K. Chesterton, Signs of the Times, April 1993, p. 6.
Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt that your hope was in vain? I think we have all been at that point at some time in our life. I think that our church should be a beacon of hope in a hopeless world.
As we continue our study from 1 Peter, we have learned that the believers who received this letter from Peter, were in great need of hope.
They were suffering in many ways. They were suffering physically emtioanlly and spiritually. Persecution was rampant. There were many who were suffering financially trying to make ends meet foer their families. It was affecting their work relation ships, marriage relationships, and their church relationships.
Warren Weirsbe in his book, BE HOPEFUL, says this about the recipients of this letter.
The important thing for us to know about these ‘scattered strangers’ is that they were going through a time of suffering and persecution. At least fifteen times in this letter, Peter referred to suffering; and he used eight different greek words to do so. Some of these Christians were suffering because they were living godly lives and doing what was good and right…Others were suffering reproach for the name of Christ….and being railed at by unsaved people…Peter wrote to ancourage them to be good witnesses to their persecuters, and to remember that their suffering would lead to glory.’ ( W.Wiersbe BE HOPEFUL)
So Peter, begins by reminding them of the incredible hope they each possess as followers of Jesus.
( READ 1 Peter 1:3-12)
How do you cling to hope when your life is undergoing these kinds of tests? What do you do when life seems to have more questions than answers?
There is a hope this world has which is no more than a fancy or as Churck Swindoll calls, a Disneyland hope. The hope the Christan possesses, is unlike anything the world has to offer.
POWER POINT: The believer has a living hope that gives us the strength to rejoice in the midst of the most difficult challenge.
I. REAL HOPE NEVER DIES (3-5).
Peter reminds us that, we have a LIVING HOPE.
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,
The New Testament idea of hope is different from the way we use the word hope today.
Chuck Swindoll writes in his book, HOPE AGAIN,
To the unsaved, hope is nothing more than mental fantasy, like wishing upon a star. It’s the kind of Disneyland hope that says, I hope I win the lottery,,,,I hope my boy comes home someday…I hope everything works out OK. That’s not a living hope. That’s wishful thinking.’
Do you know how you can tell the difference between a funeral for a believer in Jesus and someone who does not know the Lord, or whose family are unbelievers?
When a believer dies, and his/her family know the Lord there is a pain of loss. But that pain is softened by the confidence that death is not the end of the story. There is more for the believer, since we have confidence in God. This confidence is secured by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
As followers of Jesus we have been promised a living hope . So if you want to smile through the tears, as Chuck Swindoll says, just keep reminding yourself that, as a Christian, what you are going through is NOT THE END OF THE STORY.
We can also rejoice through suffering because we have a PERMANENT INHERITANCE.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!(B) According to his great mercy,(C) he has caused us to be born again…, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
Our home in heaven is secure. As one writer puts it, ‘Our place there is reserved under the safekeeping, under the constant, omnipotent survellience of Almighty God. Nothing can destroy it, defile it, diminish it, or displace it.’
Jesus gave this promise to His disciples shortly before he wold be arrested and crucified,
1(A) "Let not your hearts be troubled.(B) Believe in God;[a] believe also in me. 2In(C) my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that(D) I go to prepare a place for you?[b]3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you(E) to myself, that(F) where I am you may be also. ( 14:1-3)
When we go to Heaven, God will not look at you like, ‘what was your name again?’ The living God will ultimately welcme His children home to a permanent inheritance with your name on the door.
Not only is our hope alive, it is a permanent inheritance, but Peter also tells us that WE HAVE DIVINE PROTECTION.
This inheritance is 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.
Under heavens lock and key, we are protected by the most efficient security system available THE POWER OF GOD.
The worlds largest and strongest bank vault was built in New York City for the BANKERS TRUST. . It is a four story structure below the ASSAY office under WALL ST. It will hold about 2 billion dollars in gold, and be built below sea level and made of concrete and steel. The door to the vault is 25 tons of steel. It is meant to withstand Oxy acetylene jets or an invading army.
I guarantee you, that in our technological age, someone at some point will figure out how to break into it.
Are you not glad that as a believer, your hope is stronger than the strongest bank vault ever built by man?
There is no way we will be lost in the process of suffering. No disorder, no disease, not even death itself can weaken or threaten God’s ultimate protection over our lives.
The Apostle Pual; exclaims in Romans 8, that no matter the calamity, no matter the depth of pain or disappointment, no matter what kind of destruction occurs in our bodies at the time of death, our souls are divinely protected.
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?36As it is written,
(BP) "For your sake(BQ) we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
37No, in all these things we are more than(BR) conquerors through(BS) him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So we can be encouraged in our suffering with the confidence that REAL HOPE IS LIVING HOPE.
Now, that takes care of our future. But what of the present? believers can and expereince hope beyond suffering because…
2. REAL HOPE REJOICES IN THE TRIALS OF LIFE
6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by(J) various trials, 7so that(K) the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes(L)though it is tested by(M) fire—may be found to result in(N) praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Here is the first of several references in Peters letter to rejoicing. The words, ‘even though’ indicate that the joy is unconditional. It does not depend on the circumstances around us.
Note also that this joy comes in spite of our circumstances, not because of it. We don’t rejoice because times are hard; we rejoice in spite of the fact that they are hard.
Chuck Swindoll notes that These verse reveal three significant things about trials:
First trials are often necessary, proving the genuineness of our faith and at the same time teaching us humility. C.S writes, ‘Trials reveal our own helplessness. They put us on our face beore God. They make us realistic.
Second, trials are distressing, teaching us compassion so that we never make light of anothers test or cruelly force others to smile while enduring it.
The worst thing a person can do or say to someone who is going through a period of pain, is to trivialize it b y say something like “ Is that right? Well let me tell you my problem…’ or get over it.
There are some things that you just do not get over in a short period of time. Sometimes the best way to minister to someone who is hurting ois to simply be with them and say absolutely NOTHING.
Third, trials come in many forms. The word ‘many’ means many colored. Trials comes in a variety of forms and colors. They are different, just as each person is different. But what an encouragement to know that God offers special grace to match each persons particular circumstance and pain.
I once heard of a church that almost split over the thermostat in the church. People were constantly going to the back to change the thermostat to the tempterature they thought best.
The thermostat on the wall of our church and homes offers a great spiritual challenge. It contains a thermostat and a thermometer. What’s the difference? The thermostat controls the temperature. You set it at the temperature you want and it starts and stops the furnace or air conditioner at the right times to maintain that temperature. The thermometer doesn’t control anything. It simply reflects its environment.
We cannot control our environment around us, but we can choose how we will respond. Sometimes the heat of the furnace of life seems more than we can bear. But you can rest knowing that your Father has his hand firmly on the controls.
Warren Wiersbe says, that when God allows us to go through the fire -- He keeps his hands on the thermostat but He keeps his eyes on the clock!
The varity of trials is like different temperature settings on God’s furnace. The settings are set to burn away the dross, to temper us or soften us according to ewhat meets our HIGHEST NEED.
It is in God’s refining fire that the authenticity of our faith is revealed. And the purpose of these fiery ordeals is that we might come forth as purified gold, a shing likeness of Jesus Himself. That glittering likeness is what ultimately gives glory to the Lord.
In verses 8-9, Peter adds this further encouragement,
8(O) Though you have not seen him, you love him.(P) Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining(Q) the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Peter is telling us that Jesus is standing alongside us in the furnace. He is there even though we cannot see Him.
Charles H. Spurgeon said “As sure as God puts His children in the furnace he will be in the furnace with them”
One of my favorite veres on the topic of faith, is Hebrews 11:35
35Some women received their loved ones back from death. Many of these people were tortured, but they refused to be released. They were sure that they would get a better reward when the dead are raised to life. 36Others were made fun of and beaten with whips, and some were chained in jail. 37Still others were stoned to death or sawed in two [e] or killed with swords. Some had nothing but sheep skins or goat skins to wear. They were poor, mistreated, and tortured. 38The world did not deserve these good people, who had to wander in deserts and on mountains and had to live in caves and holes in the ground. 39All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. 40This was because God had something better in store for us.
What this reminds us is that faith is not just when we see God’s answers. Faith is strengthed and born in the midst of the furnace, because our faith is not in what we see, it is in the person we cannot see with our natural eys byet, we trust the One who said I will be with you and never forsake you.
Oswald Chambers once said, Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.
Will you be loyal to God even if He doesn’t give you everything you want? Will you be loyal to God even if He doesn’t heal your husband’s cancer? Will you be loyal to God even if you don’t get the promotion you want? Will you be loyal to God even though He is the One who is calling the shots instead of you?
God is not a magic lamp that you can rub to get what you want anytime you want it. The true God is the all powerful Creator of the Universe. The true God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men. The true God is greater than all other gods, and greater than all other kingdoms. The true God has a purpose for our lives that overrules all of our second guessing and all of our protests.
He has something greater in store for you, THE SALVATION OF YOUR SOULS.
So let’s do a quick recap. As a believer you can can rejoice through hard times and expereince hope beyond suffering is because REAL HOPE NEVER DIES it is a LIVING HOPE; Real Hope REJOICES in the Savior who is with us in the midst of our trials; and finally Peter says that
3. REAL HOPE SERVES OTHERS WHO NEED HOPE
10Concerning this salvation,(R) the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11inquiring(S) what person or time(T) the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating(U) when he predicted(V) the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12(W) It was revealed to them that(X) they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you(Y) by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,(Z) things into which angels long to look.
In the Old Testament, we have the recordings of the prophets. Many of these prophecies they uttered under the inspiration of the Holy spirit, but they did not fully understand what they meant. Most wopuld never live to see the fulfillment of those prophesies because they were meant for a furute generation to expereince.
In a real sense the prophets were SERVING another gengeration who would benefit from their faithfulness to god in proclaiming God’s message.
Peter is saying, just as the prophets served them as the believers would remain faithful to god in the midst of their trials, they were also serving others who would esxpereince similar pain.
The application I believe is simple. You may not understand what the purpose is that god has for you right now. Nevertheless, continue to be faithful to the Lord and in so doing you will be serving another generation.
The Apsotle Paul was a hero of the faith. The NT is credited to Paul as is the establishment of the church and gospel into Europe. But the Apostle was not one to hide his pain, or even his fears. He wrote to the Corinthians about the many trials he had to endure as part of his walk of faith.
He talks about the pourpose behind those fiery trials in 2 Corinthians 1
3(F) Blessed be the(G) God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and(H) God of all comfort, 4(I) who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5For as we share abundantly in(J) Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Eugene Peterson in the Message says it this way, He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.
God gives to us so that we can give to others. God comforts us so that we can comfort others. The Christian life is about loving, giving, caring, comforting, etc.
When we are going thorugh trials, our tendency is to think only of ourselves and our pain. We can easily forget others. As Warren weirsbe points out, we can become cisterns instead of channels of Gods comfort.
Yet one of the reasons for trials is so that you and I can become channels of blessinhs of comfort and encouragement to others. I like how one writer puts it,
God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters
Posted on Aug 8, 2008 | by Erin Roach
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Two months after the tragic accident that claimed the life of his 5-year-old daughter Maria Sue, Steven Curtis Chapman appeared with his wife and three oldest children on CNN's "Larry King Live" Aug. 7 to testify to the solid hope believers have in Christ.
Chapman, a Grammy-winning Christian musician, said he deals with the loss of the youngest of his three adopted Chinese daughters "sometimes in intervals of about 15 minutes at a time."
One of the most pressing questions King wanted to ask was whether Chapman lost his faith at any point during the ordeal.
"You know, at that moment, I've got to say, Larry, I mean it was -- I was crying out to my -- to my Father," Chapman said. "I was crying out to the guy that I know as my Heavenly Father."
King wanted to know if Chapman was angry.
"I really wasn't angry at God," he said. "And until you walk through that, I think I'm not sitting here saying, you know, 'I'm so -- we're so strong and I made even a choice to do that.' It was just my immediate natural reaction was -- I mean I know I heard myself saying a lot, 'God, You can't ask this of me. You can't ask this of my family. This is too much. We can't do this.'"
Chapman was standing on the front porch of his home in Franklin, Tenn., May 21 when he saw his 17-year-old son Will Franklin coming up the driveway in an old SUV. Chapman said he believes it was providential that God allowed him to see that Will was driving uncharacteristically slow and wasn't talking on his cell phone.
Will drove around to the back of the house, and as he was turning the corner, he didn't see his little sister run into his path. Immediately he knew he had hit something, and he stopped, only to find something that would forever change his life.
"Right after the accident, I started just running because I just didn't know what else to do," Will said, referring to what he did after making sure other family members were responding to Maria. "I just wanted to run and just be away -- as far away from the site of the accident as possible -- and just started running and was planning on just running as far as I could.
"And then Caleb, not too long after that, just kind of ran and tackled me and just kind of jumped on me," he said of his 18-year-old brother. "... And it was just like, 'You can't leave, you can't leave,' and just -- was just on top of me saying, 'Everything's going to be OK. We love you. You can't leave.' And just -- it was just that -- that was super important."
Chapman said his memory of the immediate aftermath is foggy.
"I do remember running around to the back of the house and finding my wife, of course, just in hysterics," he said. "... It was a lot of blood. And I, you know, of course, began just, you know, reminding God of all the great things He had done through history and that He could, you know, give her life again. He could breathe life back into her."
Maria had been on the playground in the backyard with her two sisters, and she ran toward her brother when she saw him coming in the SUV because she wanted him to lift her onto the monkey bars, Chapman said.
As they waited for medical personnel to arrive, Chapman and his wife performed CPR on Maria to no avail. The girl was flown by helicopter to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Will and the other children have been meeting with trauma counselors in order to work through their grief, their mother Mary Beth said while opening up about her own reaction to losing a child.
"I've been mad. I've been sad," she said. "I've jumped up and down. I've crawled under my bed. I've gone in my closet. You name it, I've done it. And I know that I will never understand, this side of eternity, why Maria, why Will. I have a list of questions in my journal, you know, 'Why?'"
The family agreed that they have never been angry at Will for the accident, and they rallied to show him their support. As Chapman was being driven to the hospital, he stopped in the yard to yell at his son, who was doubled over in agony, 'Will Franklin, your father loves you."
Chapman told about a discovery he made in the hours after the accident that has provided comfort in the days since.
"Maria had the morning of the accident drawn a picture of a flower and had written a word that she had never written before. She knew how to write her name. That was all I had ever seen, and maybe 'I love Dad' or 'I love Mom,'" Chapman said. "But she had never written any other words.
"And when she first died, Caleb and I, especially, kept saying if we could just see, if we could just have a dream, something, God, we'd believe it. If we could just see something that would tell us that she's OK.
"And the day after the accident, we went home to get some clothes for the funeral, for the memorial," he said. "Sitting on the art table was this little picture that Maria had drawn the morning of the accident. She had drawn a six-petaled flower, and only one petal was colored in. We have six children. Only one is whole now, we believe, in the arms of Jesus.
"She wrote the word S-E-E," he said. "She wrote the word see. And she had never written that before. She was saying, 'See, I'm good. I'm OK.'"
Caleb told King that the night Maria died the family gathered around her body and made an oath that they would honor Maria by honoring the One who gave her to them.
"And so the way I'm going to live my life from here on out is not be ashamed of what I've been created to do, and that's just share the Gospel, share Maria's story, and by sharing Maria's story, I get to share the hope that I found through tragedy," Caleb said.
The Chapmans took questions from viewers who called and sent e-mails to the show, and one woman asked how she could minister to her close friends who had recently accidentally hit their 2-year-old neighbor with their car. Chapman said his family has learned a lot about what not to do if they ever "walk into someone else's journey of grief."
"I would say be really slow to feel like you have to say anything," he said. "In fact, the most comforting things that we heard -- and that's probably the best way for me to answer it -- is when people would say, 'You know what, there are no words. I'm not going to try to put words to this. I'm not going to try to say comforting things. I'm just going to sit with you in the grief.'"
Chapman said he chose to appear on CNN and on ABC's "Good Morning America" the day before because he has a hope in Christ to share with people. Just days before Maria's death, Chapman and his wife were sitting in an airport in China having worked with some orphans. They got word that part of the country had been rocked by a major earthquake and thousands had died.
"Even as we were in the emergency room grieving the immediate news of Maria going to heaven, I immediately thought of the people of China and I thought, 'We have a comfort,'" he said on CNN. "We don't have words. We don't have an explanation, as we've fumbled over trying to explain how, why, all that. But we do have a comfort and we do have a hope."
