I want to start off this message today by reading the opening of Peter’s letter…
1 Peter 1:1-9 (ESV)
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Many of you have been in some kind of situation where you just aren't sure how you'll make it. More than discouragement, more than tired - just at a loss as to how you can possibly go on. Maybe it’s a medical bill. Maybe grades at school. Maybe a painful relationship or a terrible job.
The Christians that Peter wrote to probably wondered the same thing - how would they make it? First, he calls them “Exiles of the Dispersion.” Sure enough, in this life, we’re wanderers, aliens, sojourners. Then, this letter is full of comments about the need to hang in there. Trouble was at their heels, or was already upon them. These were people who needed help to endure in their journey of faith.
When you get ready for a long trip, you try to decide what you’ll need to survive. You can carry only so much with you. If you’re going on an airplane, there are size limits, then you start paying per bag that you check in.
I once saw a perfect formula for packing for a vacation: lay out all of the clothes you think you'll need and all of the money you think you'll need, then pack half of the clothes and twice as much money!
If you’re going backpacking, you think in terms of ounces because every pound matters after you’ve carried it a few miles.
2 guys were getting ready to go packing in bear country. One watched his buddy loading running shoes in his backpack. He said, “What are those for?” His buddy said, “That’s in case we have a bear coming after us.” His friend said, “I hate to tell you this, but you’re not able to outrun a bear.” He said, “I know that. I just have to be able to outrun you.”
In our spiritual journey, we need to know what it will take for us to "survive." Even if you're not what you would call a "spiritual person" this morning, you're still probably at least interested in whatever will help you survive the rat race.
This whole letter is about helping people press on. It’s like Peter is listing “Here are the tools you need to hang in there. These are some things you need to survive.”
Folks, Satan is working hard to discourage us. He’s attacking people on a number of fronts. So, I’m not wondering if this is relevant for anyone today. All around me are reminders that we can all use some real hope, and that we can all use some helps for the tests that are upon us.
Let’s start where Peter starts: if you’re in Jesus Christ, you’ve been born again! In God’s family, you have entered into a new life filled with a new set of challenges and new strengths to help us face those challenges. Three of them present themselves in a very easy to follow order here, vv3,4,5. 3 helps for the test that you’re about to face.
I. Living Hope (v3)
Last week we started this series on real Hope by talking about what Christian hope is and how different it is from worldly hope. Remember? This hope we have isn’t just a blind wishful shot in the dark. It’s a certainty that just hasn’t come about yet.
Yesterday, we were gathered for another funeral service in this auditorium. Verna Riley lived 96 years, and somewhere, way back there, came to believe in Jesus and was baptized into Him. Verna was born again into a living hope!
So, yesterday, as we gathered here to talk about that whole situation, we didn’t just have some distant possibility to discuss. We spoke about our hope that is alive! Jesus lives! Death has been conquered! Jesus said in
Matthew 22:31
"have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
One of the helps of being born again is that our new life is a life with no end! That's a living hope the world doesn't have.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
One of the main differences between Christian hope and the hope of the world is that our hope extends beyond this life. We have living hope. The world has dying hope. To the person who has rejected Jesus, I want to ask: What is it you hope for? - a large bank account? A large tombstone? Lots of flowers at your funeral? What hope do you have for things that actually last?
No pun intended, but that’s what I call a dead hope! It’s end is certain. It all comes apart when your health fails, or when your life is done.
You're in a hard race because the scariest part is the finish line! Every person who has life insurance is admitting this! Listen, if you're without Jesus and you're wondering how to change the end story, here's the answer for you. Starting the race over with Jesus means starting over into a living hope - on a different race course.
Ill - Part of what makes running in a race tolerable is being able to see the finish line. Knowing that at the end you'll be able to stop struggling and rest, or get a drink, or stretch some cramped muscles makes it possible to keep trying. Can you imagine instead being on a long run, and knowing that when you reach the end you're going to have to do an hour of high impact aerobics and then you’re going to be beaten with sticks? It wouldn't be very motivating to hurry and finish the run!
We've been born into a living hope. We spoke last week about what that hope should produce in our lives. This morning, let's just take living hope and put it on the list of helps that the Lord gives His children to help them endure when it's tough to go on.
The 2nd help is…
II. Reserved Inheritance (v4)
Because we've been born again, we've not only signed up to run in a different race, we've also entered into a different family. Do you know what that means? A new and different inheritance !
OK. What has to happen for you to receive an inheritance?
First, you have to belong to the right family.
Then, someone has to make a provision for you to receive something - like, in a will.
Then, someone has to die.
So, let’s talk about your family - you and 23. I can tell you, without a genetic test, that we have common ancestry. More recently, Noah, but 10 generations before him, Adam.
Our father Adam didn’t leave us much of an inheritance. Romans 5 says he left us one thing: death! Talk about a lousy inheritance! That’s a lot different than finding out your rich uncle died and left you a fortune! Some fathers die and set you up for life. Adam died and left us with an unmanageable debt!
But we’ve been born again, into a different family inheritance! Think about it in those terms.
Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
How often do you think about heaven? Without talking about streets of gold and pearly gates and a river of life, Peter describes in more general terms some of the inheritance we have coming through Jesus (v4): Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading.
It won’t ever die. It can’t ever be spoiled. And it won’t even begin to be less.
Cut roses are always a good idea. They’re like the all-purpose, can’t be wrong thing to give your wife - for any occasion. But they’re always given with an excuse: they don't last forever. They'll eventually die. They are subject to damage, and before all that happens, they’ll begin to fade. Heaven won't even fade. It won't be like a new car that loses it's luster and novelty after a year. It won't be like your favorite sweatshirt that starts to wear away, even though you used all temperature Cheer with color guard!
When you're in Jesus, you're in a new family. You have an inheritance coming - because you're in the right family, someone has died, and that One has made a provision for you to receive His wealth. He wrote it up in a last will and testament - His new covenant that He sealed with His blood. You didn't earn it. He worked hard to earn it for you and all you have to do to receive it is meet the conditions of an inheritor. You have to belong to His family! That's good news! If you don’t yet, you can change that today, here.
That's the inheritance reserved for the person who has God as Father!
The 3rd help is in v5…
III. Protection (v5)
We lived in a trailer court on campus at OCC. It was late fall, and we were on a trip in MI, visiting my parents. We got a call from our neighbors. Turkey Creek was rising. The trailer court was being evacuated.
We called our insurance guy to make sure that we were insured. We had every kind of protection - lightning, fire, tornado, theft, zombie apocalypse - every kind of protection except flood! (They weren’t “Farmers”!)
A guy’s house caught on fire. He escaped with his life, and the house was lost. He made the same kind of phone call, to his insurance guy.
"I am covered, aren't I?"
"Let's see, you have coverage for fire and theft. Sorry, you should have gotten our fire or theft coverage! If only someone had been robbing your house while it burned..."
It’s too late to check your protection after the tragedy. You need to check before.
There’s a story in I Kings 22 about King Ahab’s last battle. He put on his armor, like he had done many times before. He entered the battle, and a random arrow, launched his direction, hit him at a joint in his armor. He was mortally wounded.
Make no mistake. Our enemy, the devil, is a cunning adversary. He looks for the loopholes in your coverage; those holes in your life; the place he can dig and make it wound - maybe fatally. Maybe it's lust, anger, materialism, dishonesty, some place where your guard is down. Without God's protection he'll get in and bring you down. If you don’t believe me, just watch the news out of Washington - anytime in past 100 years!
God is full protection! Not only are we given a living hope and full rights of inheritance, but God will protect that new relationship. We can now take up the shield of faith and stop the flaming arrows of the devil!
We don't have to cower beneath his attacks! We don't have to give in when he tries to tell us that God isn't there or that He doesn't matter. When don't have to re-live the shame of our marred pasts when he accuses us before the Father! Listen to some of these words about God’s protection for those who are in His family:
2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
2 Timothy 1:12
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
2 Timothy 1:14
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Jude 24-25
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!
God’s Holy Spirit living inside of is a wonderful gift in a lot of ways. Part of the work He’s doing inside us is helping us to be obedient. He empowers us to remain faithful. He strengthens us and convicts us for obedience in ways that we could never do on our own. It’s a matter of walking with Him; letting Him have His way.
Over the years, I’ve asked people, “What is it that keeps you from accepting Jesus? What are you waiting for?” Sometimes, the answer I hear is something like, “If I become a Christian, I want to make sure that I’m being sincere. I don’t want to do it and then be a hypocrite.” Some people are just afraid they won’t be genuine about it.
If you've been holding out on accepting Jesus for fear that you won't stick to it, hear this: The Father has a protection plan to keep that relationship strong! You’re not ever going to be able to do this on your own strength. Receiving help from the Lord is one of the reasons you need to accept Him! Until you do, you’re not protected.
Conclusion
-Ill - 1877, Crowfoot, the chief of the Blackfoot confederacy in southern Alberta, helped negotiate what became known as “Treaty 7.” It gave the Canadian Pacific Railway permission to cross the land of the Blackfoot from Medicine Hat to Calgary. In appreciated for his help in peacefully negotiating the agreement, Crowfoot was given a lifetime railroad pass. He carried it around his neck on a chain for the rest of his life...but there's no record he ever used the pass! Imagine what pass like that would be worth today. He never used it.
We need to realize the value of the helps we have from Jesus! Praise God for the blessings He gives us! It's no small thing! The helps and privileges God gives us will get us through the tests of life! More than just knowing we have them, we need to put them to use and live like it's true.
Doesn't it help you to hang in there to remember that you've been born into a living hope that goes beyond this life? to know that even when everything else falls apart the day after the warranty expires you still have an inheritance in Heaven that will never be soiled, faded, or die? to know that God Himself is helping you to stand, fully protected against the attacks of Satan?
