I Peter (*1:3)
Introduction: A man in Levelland, TX got his lost dog back after he put this ad in the paper: "Lost or strayed, Chihuahua dog answering to the name of Chico. Brilliant dog, acutely aware of national and world politics - he shakes all the time."
September 10th was World Suicide Prevention Day. Statistics show that is has been on the rise in the US for the past 15 years at an alarming rate. Studies suggest there are many factors that contribute to the increase. But as I look them over and study it through, there’s something they all have in common: lost hope. Whether that’s caused by mental illness, relationships, financial stresses, or other things, they all lead to someone losing hope - hope that there’s a way out, hope that things can get better, hope that someone will care.
Like never before we live in a world that has lost hope. The arriving generations are missing it. There’s no real hope for national security - we were reminded of that on 9-11; for the drug crisis; for curing poverty; for peace. When was the last time you watched or read the news and got a sense that hope is just around the corner? NOT!
Then, I read this letter from Peter, where he puts in the introduction…
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
The general message of the letter we call 1 Peter is a message of HOPE - real hope. Early radio, in the 1920’s, there was a show by Al Pearce who did a character named “Elmer Blurt, the world’s most nervous door-to-door salesman.” His running gag was that he’d approach a house, and as he knocked on the door say, “Nobody home, I hope, I hope, I hope."
It became a national catch phrase. We use a phrase today that shows our anemic view of what hope is all about.
Have you ever said something you hoped for and then said, “Knock on wood”? What that means to us is, if all goes well, and we’re lucky, and we somehow make it past Murphy’s Law, things just might possibly turn out to be OK, maybe, probably. That’s not what Peter is talking about. Typically, when we talk about hope today, what we really mean by that is, “I have a wishful thought that things might turn out OK but I really can’t control it. So, I’m saying, ‘I hope,’ but it doesn’t change anything.”
Peter’s letter is a letter of hope - Real hope that’s based on the certainties of God. Real hope is about things that are reliable and true. They just aren’t here yet.
To introduce this whole letter today, we’re just going to look at what real hope can produce in our lives. Remember the "fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness... Those are fruits that having the Spirit of God in our lives will produce. Peter shows us there are some fruits that real hope should produce as well. Our hope comes from the Lord, and it produces real fruit in our lives…
I. Obedience to God's Design
There were a lot of neat cars here yesterday! I like going around and marvel at the intricate designs that come together in a car. People do that - teams of people - engineers, craftsmen, financers, factory designers - it’s pretty amazing. But, you know what? We would never have been able to come up with all that if we hadn’t been able to observe design and structure in nature first.
We never would have put some things in order if God hadn’t done it for us in the first place. The way we mess them up when we neglect His design is proof of that. I know that a lot of it’s not on purpose, but we sure goof things up sometimes.
One answer to those mess-ups is HOPE. Hope helps us stick to God’s design. Peter is very specific about where it can help us.
A. For family members
Joke - A marriage counselor asked a woman, "Has your husband lived up to all the things he said before you were married?"
"No, not all, but he has lived up to one of them.”
"Which one is that?"
"He said he wasn't good enough for me."
Real hope helps shape a healthy marriage - not the high hopes that you take into marriage the day of the wedding, but real hope that comes from God. There were some women in the early church who had become followers of Jesus but whose husbands had not. That’s a tough situation that can put some stress into a relationship. Listen to what Peter will tell wives that hope will do for their marriage, even if it’s a difficult marriage…
1 Peter 3:1-6 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
What should a wife have because her hope is in God? The ability to carry out this command of God.
In a minute, we'll see how husbands can help. Right now, notice v1. Peter has the nerve to suggest that you be a submissive wife even if your husband isn’t a believer! What good can that do? It could win his soul to Jesus, that's what good it could do!
What’s more likely to interest a man in life with God: nagging and threatening that he’d better get his life straight or an attitude that clearly says, "The God I serve commands me to be this way, and I’ll work to be the kind of woman He commands me to be; not just to please you, but because it pleases God and His way is the way for happiness in our home."
Some might be thinking, "Nice, but that wouldn't work on my husband."
Ill - A little hope from history: There were no roots of Christianity in the Scandinavian countries in the early church years. In fact, those Norskies were a rugged, invading type of people who came down into Europe and made raids, often capturing the women of the cities they plundered and taking them off as wives. While there were no missionary efforts there at first, there appeared a small growth of Christianity among the Norse people - the reason? The captured women had converted their husbands!
Remember your hope, Christian wives:
1 Peter 3:5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,
Your hope can make you "children of Sarah", who followed Abraham’s lead, even when he was wrong! Do you hope in your God enough to be so bold? Do it without being frightened with any fear. Let your hope in God show its colors!
Husbands, don’t miss your part in this…
1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Your hope in God should help you to look at that woman in a way different than other husbands. She’s a special person, with special qualities, and she should be treated with special care for that reason.
When God made Eve, he made her of the same stuff as Adam, but He didn’t make her just like Adam. I’m thankful for that. I discovered that my wife isn’t just like me. She’s able to be sensitive to things I fail to notice. She can interpret unspoken languages that I don’t even hear! She’s able to engage little people in a way that escapes me. And, I can still take her in an arm wrestle!
Yes, my fellow heir of the grace of life is a "weaker vessel," and I praise God for it. I couldn't stand it if she were just like me! But, the hope I have in God is the same hope that she has. We’re equals, as far as salvation is concerned. My hope in God helps me to be obedient to His order for our household - which means for me to love her the way Jesus loves the Church, and for her to voluntarily follow my lead, without fear. And, yes, it does work.
B. For church members
If there’s one place where our hope ought to be evident in obedience, it's in the church family. Part of our hope is based on the fact that God has made us (2:9-10). We’re the Chosen Race, a Holy Nation, a People for God's own possession. That's our very real hope, and it needs to show.
1 Peter 2:11-12
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Yes our hope in God should, must, make a our lifestyles noticeably distinct - to a point where people on the outside see it and make a note of it.
What would Peter write to the Church in the US today? Why is it that we so often work at being like the world when we really ought to be putting effort into sticking out? Why are problems with pornography so prevalent in the Church? Why is the divorce rate nearly the same in some parts of the country? Why don’t our co-workers, our classmates, our family members know that we’re living by a different worldview?
Do we hope for the same things that the people outside of the church are hoping for? More money, more power, more pleasure, more time to enjoy it all? Come on, Church! Real hope, that comes from God, demands a life that looks different.
C. For citizens
Just like a wife can show her hope in God by submitting to her imperfect husband, we have an obligation to show our hope in God by submitting to an imperfect human government.
1 Peter 2:13-15
Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Your life as a citizen, wherever that may be, is a reflection on your hope that comes from God. By the way, that’s another reason we have for NOT putting our hope in any human government.
Somewhere out there is a wave of thinking that’s going around, and you can see it every day. The idea is that, if you don’t agree with something, if you don’t like the way it’s being done, take to the streets. Create chaos. Disobey. Destroy resources. Disrespect. Stick it to the man (whoever he is).
If there ever was a group of people who could protest the way they were being treated by the government, it was Christians in the 1st Century Roman Empire. But they were never instructed to take to the streets. They were instructed simply to obey civil authorities. Christians were being wrongly accused of being insurrectionists. It simply wasn’t true. Instead, Peter told them, by doing good they could silence the ignorance of foolish people. Be model citizens. There were times for civil disobedience, but those were extreme. In general, Peter says “be obedient.”
Our obedience to government shows that our hope is beyond that of the average citizen. Let your hope make a difference in the kind of citizen you are. Hope helps us to be obedient, because this honors God. It shows that submission to His plan is our first pledge of allegiance, no matter where we live.
Another fruit that real hope will produce is Longsuffering - patience when things are tough. Some of us need more of it than others...
II. Longsuffering
Joke - I have a nephew who has been in ministry for over 20 years. Not too long ago, he was offered a job as partner in a funeral home. He gave it a hard look but decided to continue preaching. I wondered if he might not do it, though, because I had heard of a preacher who, after 20 years studied to became a funeral director. When asked why he changed, he said: "I spent 3 years trying to straighten out John and John's still an alcoholic. Then I spent a year trying to straighten out Susan's marriage and she filed for divorce. Then I spent 2½ years trying to straighten out Bob's anger problem and he's still as angry as ever. Now at the funeral home when I straighten them out they stay straight!" Some of us need more patience than others.
Peter is writing to a group of people who are being persecuted because of their faith.
1 Peter 1:6
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
In the middle of suffering because of their faith, these people needed help to make it through, and Peter was helping them to do that by reminding them of their hope in God. Hope produces longsuffering when times are tough.
But we aren’t under a corrupt Roman government that would soon be killing Christians for public entertainment. Does this even apply to us?
Let me remind you that, worldwide, more people have died for their faith in Jesus in the past century than in all of the previous centuries combined. Let me remind you that people are being imprisoned and tortured and dying in Communist countries right now. Persecution in India against Christians has increased 4X in the past few years. Then there’s the slow crush that’s being applied at our own doorstep. There’s the legal pressure that has us changing our bylaws to cover our bases. There’s the worry that government policy changes against the Church will gain momentum.
Think about it - what if your contribution to the Church wasn’t considered an eligible tax break anymore? What if all negative talk against sinful lifestyles was officially labeled “hate speech”? What if we suddenly had to give equal time to all kinds of false religions and philosophies?
Doesn’t real hope have a place in the way we handle what’s going on today and in the future right around us?
I don’t know what’s down the road for our children and grandchildren, or how soon it’s going to come. I just know that our hope in God will let us endure hardship for the sake of honoring Him!
1 Peter 4:19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Our God is faithful. We can trust that He’ll take care of the details when we stick our necks out for Him. Hope should naturally result in longsuffering when times turn hard.
One more fruit Peter talks about is…
III. Outspokenness
Outspokenness is just a natural outcome when someone has convictions that lead to obedience, and when their obedience has led to enduring opposition.
Have you ever watched an interview with a football team that has engaged in tough discipline, and then has faced tough opponents? Don’t they tend to be a bit outspoken? Or do they get behind and mic and just shrug their shoulders and stay quiet?
Hope, by definition, involves what’s unseen. It’s the aspect of hope that makes it difficult for the human nature to maintain.
Romans 8:24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
Hope can’t be “hope” if you can see it! Sometimes we may lose hope for this very reason. “And, Lord, haste the day, when the faith shall be sight!”
Sure, after Jesus returns, after we’ve been changed, after it all has finally become reality, then we can be sure of it, but right now we just don't see it. Peter knew this - even pointed it out in 1:8
But Christian hope is more than just wishful thinking, more than just a gamble with the odds in our favor. While we may not see Him, our hope isn’t blind! Even the great prophets of old hoped in what they couldn’t see, and were told they would not see. 1:21 he says our faith and hope are in God because He raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him glory! Our salvation is certain because it relies on that same power of God that raised Jesus from the dead. So it’s not a blind or foolish acceptance.
The power of that kind of hope, the certainty of such "hope" should make us the most outspoken people on earth!
2 Corinthians 3:12
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
Why has God made us a chosen race? A Royal priesthood? A holy nation? A people for God's own possession?
1 Peter 2:9b
…that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Why bother keeping our behavior excellent among the Gentiles? Not just to shame them, but (2:12) “…they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation..”
If our hope in God is real, it shouldn't be hard to share.
1 Peter 3:15b
…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…
That's where our hope should be - so real, so important, so strong, that we will always be ready to tell anyone why we have such a hope. Outspokenness springs from our hope.
Conclusion:
Where has your hope taken you? It has taken many Christians bravely to be killed. It has taken the gospel into Godless societies.
It has taken awkward people to talk to their neighbors about Jesus.
It has taken high school students to stand up at school.
It has taken people CCC to places they weren’t comfortable, to do things they wouldn’t have otherwise done, all because their hope is in something greater than this life.
What is hope producing in your life?
Todd is going to come and share a song with us today to help create a setting to deal with these questions. This song deals with a very issue when it comes to your hope. Is it real? Does it deal with life’s most important issue?
(“If You Died Tonight” - Big Daddy Weave)
