Living Hope

Introduction

Depression is a real thing today.

When a challenge gets beyond our capacity we slide into a series of negative feelings.

These feeling can effect our physical being, cause anxiety, and surely our

perception.

Depression can be deep sadness, negative thinking, or even despair

BUT

antonyms for depression

advantage

benefit.

blessing.

cheer.

comfort

.contentment.

encouragement.

Peter is offering Brothers and Sisters in Christ the ANTONYM FOR DEPRESSION, ANGER, SADNESS< AND HURT.

It is the LIVING HOPE OF CHRIST JESUS

as we look at verses 3-12 today

Lets see the Prescription from Paul for these issues.

REMEMBER --- the recipients of this letter are PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

Paul is writing for ROME in 62 AD

Paul address the LETTER and then leads with almost a crazy statement when others are in turmoil.

BLESSED BE THE GOD and FATHER of our LORD JESUS CHRIST!

WOW- I don’t know of many exclamation points in the BIBLE !!!

BUT MINE has one there.

Our first lesson is right here in the first words of verse #

When loved ones are in peril — proclaim the Blessing of CHRIST JESUS !!

______________

Our Christian experience may very well be described in terms of the START OF A DAY

The Scriptures tell us that

Lamentations 3:22–23 (ESV)

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

each day starts with a beginning, our eyes open, we rise from our bed to greet our day.

There is an innate feeling of HOPE, isn’t there?

Today will be a good day!!! I cannot wait for.......

Yet we don’t simply lie back down for 16 hours hoping for the promise of the sunset.

we must live our day. — KNOWING that GOD has a PURPOSE for IT.

we hope the next meeting is good, that lunch is good, that our next phone call will go well.

whatever these things are for you

we live in hope - CHRISTIANS ARE POSITIVE THINKERS

This must be translated to our LIFE in CHRIST

our LIFE is not separate, we are NOT SUNDAY CHRISTIANS

so we must learn to have a LIVING HOPE.

Yes Jesus is coming back in 5 minutes, 5 days, or 50 years

but our hope must not be placed on a shelve

our Hope must be LIVING.

WRITE THIS WORD IN YOUR NOTES ---- LIVING

we face the difficulties and the Victories

We need to be so GRIPPED BY HIS GRACE that we cannot wait to share it.

Warren Wierbe says

our hope does not place us in a rocking chair complacently waiting on Jesus, but in our workplace, on the battlefield of our daily lives.

it keeps us going when the battles are hard, when our burdens are tough.

Our hope is not a sedative, but rather a shot of adrenaline to live every moment

Amen

Now Write this word in your NOTES — HOPE

We need to practice LIVING IN HOPE in all things at all times.

Jesus doesn’t simply want to reveal Himself sometime in the future, but to reveal HIMSELF in and through you moment by moment.

It is not that bad things won’t happen to you as a Christian, tough times will happen,

BUT our Living Hope is that Jesus is always with us, always for us, and always protecting us.

Our living hope is key to a Christian life

If JESUS is with us, then Who COULD be AGAINST US.

I do understand this LIVING HOPE

for in the two greatest challenges of my LIFE

I wore this verse on a ring and would pray this many times a day.

Is 54:17 “17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.””

Fear is not the RULER in a Christian Life, Christ is the ONLY RULER

We have a LIVING HOPE

Our Living Hope

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

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,

Blessed be our God our Jesus! according to HIS great MERCY

Mercy is getting less than we deserve

Friends we are BORN AGAIN

do you ever forget that?

Our VERY LIFE is going to CHANGE

I want to encourage you

Where you are, Where you were is NOT where you are going to be

This is important.

The word HOPE here is a noun with the adjective LIVING

This change is DYNAMIC is it evolving, moving forward, and changing your very heart and thoughts

Hope is an EXPECTATION, a BELIEF in the FULFILLMENT something DESIRED

We are to become more like Jesus RIGHT

we have the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to teach us

about Jesus’s character

starting in [verse 4]

1 peter 1:4 “4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,”

1 peter 1:5 “5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Peter is giving us the ANSWER or the REASSURANCE of that HOPE

an INHERITANCE - that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading

it is kept in Heaven --- THE PROMISE OF GOD

PROTECTED by God’s POWER

PROVIDED in the PERFECT TIMING OF GOD

NO matter where you are IF you are in Christ daily

you will become more

Humble

Peaceful

Loving

Kind

Gentle

Patience

there are some of the attributes of the FRUIT of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

our Hope is not ONLY for the future when we pass to this world

BUT rather with us every moment of every day

Our hope is LIVING and active

it is the secret sauce to LIVING WELL ---

Persecution --- WE HAVE A LIVING AND ACTIVE HOPE

Our HOPE IS ALIVE - Our Jesus is ALIVE

We are not rocking chair Christians

sure we will be sad, we will cry but we are HIS

HE promises us salvation in the future for eternity

but HE also promises us to be with us ALWAYS

and friends we MUST see that

This means HE is right there with us in any FIRE.

I am reminded of the story of Daniel

Genuine Faith

When the three Hebrew children—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—

were thrown into a fiery furnace because of their faithfulness to God, King Nebuchadnezzar, came to witness their execution

—but he was stunned to see not three but four men in the fire

…and he recognized that the fourth man in the fire was none other than the Son of God (Daniel 3.19-25)

The good news is that when all that we have accumulated,

all that we have clung to, all that we have relied on burns and melts away,

\there in the heart of the furnace we come face to face with the Fourth Man in the fire

—the One whose name is Immanuel —God with us.

We just celebrated Christmas a few weeks ago and we prayed GOD EMMANUEL

God with us

We must remember it is BY FAITH we are SAVED

GOD IS EMMANUEL

GOD WITH US

look at verse 8

1 peter 1:8 “8 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,”

We have not seen him ---BUT we love HIM

We do not see HIM beside us BUT we is there

and we REJOICE in that … We remember that we are HIS

we are more valuable to HIM then GOLD, we are REFINED

and we are RESTORED

REJOICE when REFINED for we are RESTORED

Faith is the KEY

my grandmother would say JUST BELIEVE

and she was right

look at Verse NINE

Salvation

1 peter 1:9 “9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

The outcome of our faith is Salvation.

the thing that we all seek deeply is assurance of our salvation.

knowing that trusting in God’s Word is real.

Hebrews 11:1 “1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

if we see it then we don’t need faith

if we had a fixed date we would not need to have a LIVING HOPE

John 20:29 ESV

29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

we are creatures of sight BUT must become creatures of FAITH

i don’t need to see getting older, but i have FAITH it will happen

I don’t need to doubt that if i don’t eat, i will be hungry

i know that people with bring joy and sorrow into by life

I know these things with out seeing

and my faith in CHRIST must become like this.

so we must BE IN CHRIST DAILY - and WITH CHRIST DAILY

We must increase in our LIKENESS TO HIM and our standing on HIS FOUNDATION

The Prophets spoke of the COMING of the LORD

and HE came on that First EASTER

He is GOD WITH US

GOD WITH US, JESUS WITH US brings us to the LIVING HOPE

We live in HOPE daily, not only focused on HEAVEN, but the JOY

of being REJOICING in any TRIAL, for the REFINING, for the RESTORATION

Friends we are GOD’s INHERITANCE, We are HIS JOY

and HE is ours

Friends

LIFT UP YOUR EYES, LIFT UP YOUR HEART FOR WE HAVE A LIVING HOPE IN CHRIST NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION

Lets Pray