LIVING IN LIGHT OF ETERNITY
‘What Good is Future Glory in My Present Pain?’
Exploring the Hope of Heaven Series #4
1 Peter 1:13
Outlook determines Outcome = A spiritual focus determines how we handle our problems.
Illustration:
The Lion King. Young Simba was the son of the king. Great priviledge and great responsibility were his. His father’s reminder was ‘Remember who you are.’ Simba was born into great wealth and priveledge, but he was living life as a bug-eater with Timon & Pumba. He had taken “Hakuna-Matata” as his outlook: ‘No worries’ = no gratitude, no responsibility, no future.
If all we have to live for is down here, how miserable is that? Writer of Ecc. says “All is vanity.”
We have more to live for! SEE 1 PETER 1:3-4
Remember who you are! We have:
• A living Hope
• A Protected Eternal Inheritance
• A Completed Salvation
When this is our outlook, then Romans 8:18 is our expression of hope:
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18 (HCSB)
So, how can we maintain a spiritual outlook during unpleasant circumstances?
I. Train Your Mind – ‘gird up’ = prepare for action
A. Focus your mind & will on the purpose God has given you
1. “For His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:3-8 (HCSB)
2. God’s Power is Enough (vs. 3)
3. God’s Promises are Reliable (vs. 4)
4. God’s Plan is Glorious (vs. 8)
B. Allow God’s truth to transform your thinking
II. Guard Your Spirit – ‘Be sober’ = aware; in control (under Spirit’s control)
A. Practice Spiritual Disciplines
1. Don’t lose your head
2. Don’t lose focus
B. Prohibit Fleshly Desires
1. Don’t go off the deep end
2. Thessalonian believers who quit working
III. Fix Your Hope – ‘Rest completely in the hope of Heaven’
A. “Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenaline. Like an anchor, our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life; but unlike an anchor, our hope moves us forward, it does not hold us back.” Warren Wiersbe
B. Don’t allow the trauma of the present to blur your vision of the glorious future with Jesus in Heaven.
1. Illustration: Seasickness, tossing & turning. Fix your gaze on the horizon.
2. It is stationary and provides a sense of stability and a frame of reference.
3. “My world may seem out of control, but the Hope of Heaven provides the needed stability to steer my course and still my soul.”
