Real Hope .... and Joy

Today we begin a new series, our 6 week EASTER series, on the rst letter of Peter. We’ve called this series REAL HOPE because it’s what those early Christians, whom Peter was writing to, needed. A sure and genuine hope to face the barrage of persecution and suffering they were experiencing. This letter addresses that issue. It’s about how to live in a world that is against you, how to stay faithful to Christ in that context, and what attitude to have to in endurance. You see the world these early Christians lived in was hostile to them, and they needed encouragement, guidance and hope to know how to live well for Christ, when all the time the world they were in, was moulding them to live differently. So as we work through this little book over these 6 weeks, we’ll be looking at different aspects of life, and how the call to hold on to HOPE, REAL HOPE, helped those early Christians. Do you nd that the world around us today is becoming more and more hostile to Christians, and even to the historical Christian ethos and values that have shaped much of the world? Well, this little letter can also help us to live in this world, with hope, real hope, instead of despair. This letter of Peter was written to people in a particular area of the world which we now call Turkey. Modern day Istanbul Gallipoli Ephesus Laodicea and Colossae Thessaloniki and Philippi Verse 1 says “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. And here is the geography of those provinces. Now these early Christians were exiles, as this letter says …. scattered across these areas, because of persecution. We think this letter was written in the early to mid 60s of the rst century, this is likely in the 30 years following the cruci xion and resurrection of Jesus. and Christians have had a tough start in those early decades as people began to follow Jesus, they became Christians, and the church grew and ourished. fi fi fi Page 1 of 7 fi fl ACN April 16, 2023 Sunshine and Tewantin 1 Peter 1:1-25 REAL HOPE … and joy Whatever century, and wherever they are, people who choose to follow Jesus, the cruci ed and risen one, will always be at odds with the world they nd themselves in. In fact I would dare to say, that if we do nd ourselves comfortable in this world, then we’re probably not living for Jesus as we should be. This letter addresses that particular phenomenon. If we live for Jesus, our hope and our home is somewhere else. If we live for Jesus, this world will never satisfy us, and we will never satisfy the world. It’s possible that this could have been the route that Peter’s letter took as it went round the churches, encouraging people. When we were on LSL in 2014 one of the most amazing places we visited was Turkey. We found something new and fascinating every single day, in fact Chris often describes our time in Turkey by saying that there was yet another surprise around every corner. This is some of the landscape of Cappadocia. Their homes were carved out of the mountains. Not only were the Christians persecuted in the early church, but they were also persecuted through the dark ages and middle ages. Their places of worship were carved into the mountains. We visited places where Christians lived in hiding, when the authorities and the muslims were seeking them out. They would hide themselves and live in underground cities, with sophisticated air channels providing oxygen for them. They dug 100s of metres through these mountains, creating underground villages just like ants. The particular city we explored was underground by more than 75 metres, and the series of tunnels provided rooms for sleeping, eating, cooking, storage. Absolutely incredible. Thousands of people lived in these underground cities … it was the only way they could survive as Christians. So not only was this letter from Peter appropriate for the early centuries, it was also appropriate towards the end of the 1st millennia and the beginning of the 2nd fi fi fi Page 2 of 7 millennia, and still for the Christians of Turkey, and for us, it is increasingly appropriate for the 3rd millennia as we face a world that is hostile to us. So what does Peter have to say, to speak encouragement and life and HOPE into this situation? Well he begins by reminding them of who they are and what their future is. Look at what he says in the rst couple of verses: "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood. Grace and peace be yours in abundance. 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, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. 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. " (NIV) He speaks to them about hope, about a living hope, which will take them, not only into the future, but will actually take them into eternity. Peter is writing about something that is certain. It’s a hope in the present, that holds the future because it's anchored in the past. It is anchored and accomplished in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. What a great thing to be thinking about in this week after Easter. Look at what he says. 'You've been chosen and destined by God the Father.' You’ve been sancti ed by the Spirit. for the purpose of being obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood.' He says 'We've been born into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.' Because Jesus is alive, Christians in those churches had a hope that is alive, and WE have a hope that is alive. Every one of us needs hope! Where do you nd your hope? What is your hope for the future based on? What is your hope for eternity based on? What is your hope of heaven based on? Perhaps your hope has faded over the years. Perhaps you no longer feel that your eternity is sure. What Peter is saying here is that our future never perishes, never spoils, never fades. Why? Because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead! fi fi fi Page 3 of 7 When hope runs thin, that is when we need to persevere. We need to look beyond ourselves to the foundation of our hope. That is, we need to look back to the historical Christ, to the Christ who died and rose again. God intervened in the natural order of the world, to raise Jesus from the dead. The resurrection also shows that God vindicates those who suffer unjustly for the sake of the gospel. Just as God didn't leave Jesus to suffer, but raised him on the third day, those who suffer for Christ's sake can be sure that God will vindicate them in the end. Mind you, notice that it doesn't mean we'll avoid suffering. In fact suffering is pretty much guaranteed. It’s a given. But suffering isn't the end of the story. We'll say more about suffering in a few weeks time, but for now, suf ce to say that suffering for the gospel in Australia at this point in history rarely means physical suffering. More often what happens is that Christians in our culture are marginalised. Left out of the conversation. Made a joke of. Considered irrelevant. That's how we're likely to nd ourselves persecuted where we are. But even when that happens it isn't the end of the story. God will vindicate us in the end and those who think Christ irrelevant will face Him one day. And I take heart in the knowledge of God’s vindication for the millions of our brothers and sisters who suffer in other parts of the world today. Their hope and our hope for the future, and for eternity rests in the fact that we have a risen Jesus. But let's go on to what else Peter says about this real hope into which we've been born. We're being protected by the power of God through faith. And so Peter tells us in v.6 that we rejoice. We have JOY. Why? Because, although we don't yet see Jesus, although we may have to suffer various trials because of our faith in him, we know that we're already receiving the outcome of our faith, which is salvation. The future inheritance that we look forward to, is already being worked out in us. We're already members of God's Kingdom. We already have God's Spirit living within us. We are already experiencing through the community of faith, something of what it'll be like to be part of the great communion of saints in heaven. And as uncomfortable as this world, or its trials may be, there is a positive purpose:… fi fi Page 4 of 7 v.7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though re ned by re—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. In fact, he says to these churches, your present experience is this: even though you can't see Jesus you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable joy because of the salvation you're experiencing even now. And isn’t it fantastic, in v.10, to notice that this salvation is exactly what the prophets of old had looked forward to. Although they spoke to the people of their own time, what they said was also addressed to us. Their witness was to assure us that what we see in the death and resurrection of Christ was the result of the de nite plan and foreknowledge of God. So …. how does this impact our hope and our joy? Because it shows that the death of Jesus wasn't a mistake. It was what God meant to happen, it was the ful lment and culmination of his plan. And what's more, we are privileged to have that plan revealed to us. v.12 Even the angels didn't have that revealed to them, but it was revealed to us. So let’s move on to the second half of the chapter. 13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and full sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not con rm to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is hot, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." Our holiness …. and holy means set apart … our ‘set apart-ness’ takes us into eternity. If God has completed this part of his plan, then we can be sure that he'll complete the rest of his plan, which of course is to bring us to live with him in his kingdom …. forever. For eternity. Our call to holiness, is a call to have an eternal mindset. We are made for eternity, we have been redeemed for eternity. Peter continues to take them further. He goes on to show them how to live. And that is to be holy – to be set apart for God. In the world we live in today – Holiness is really a foreign concept. And it shows us time and time again that this world is not our true home, it’s not our true end. And that’s seen in v.17 when Peter describes those Christians, and I believe also describes us, that we are foreigners here. And because of that we are to live in reverent fear of our Father in heaven. Being holy is not what this world calls us to. It’s blatantly clear to me that this world calls me to be unholy. And I think, if your honest, you would agree that this world is calling you to be unholy. fi fi fi fi fi Page 5 of 7 I’m really glad that Peter tells us how to be holy, because we’re not going to nd out on our own. Peter says get your minds ready, so that when you face opposition you're prepared; so that when life gets tough you're not taken by surprise. In these verses, Peter says to us … it is possible - to be holy. Look at verse 18 – it begins with the words ‘You know’. And in the Greek it relates to the previous verse where it says ‘live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear’. The logic of it is this … “Live like this….. because you know this!” In other words, the Christian life is lived out, holiness is lived out of a knowledge that Christ has accomplished redemption through the resurrection. Verse 18 – ‘You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life ……. v.19 but with the precious blood of Christ.’ And so we live out our lives in holiness, because of the con dence we have in Jesus Christ and what he has accomplished for us. It’s because of the cross that we can accept God to be both Father and Judge. We know that reality because the cross shows us. I can’t help but think of the words of that beautiful song by Graham Kendrick from quite a few years ago now – “we worship at your feet, where wrath and mercy meet, and a guilty world is washed by love’s pure stream.” Wrath and mercy … these are just other words for judgement and love. And love’s pure stream, the love Jesus shed on the cross, brings those two together. Being holy is often portrayed as negative, but being holy is actually something very positive. It’s about having purpose, it’s about knowing our distinctiveness and valuing it; it’s about being chosen. The actual de nition of holiness is this … we are ‘set apart for a particular purpose’. God has called us, and we are His. I want to share some quotes about holiness from three Christian greats. Firstly DL Moody A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine. D.L. Moody. How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, it is irresistible. C.S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady, New Bible Commentary, p. 28. fi fi fi Page 6 of 7 "Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervours, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills." John Brown, 19thC Scottish theologian Such great thoughts for re ection. Our rst reading today was from the day of Pentecost, which was just 6 weeks after this same Peter denied Christ three times, then witnessed the resurrection, then was restored three time by Jesus when they were eating sh on the beach. This transformed Peter said on the day of Pentecost addressing the great crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." 30-40 years later Peter’s conviction has not waned. He knows and believes the same thing. And we are bene tting. My friends, whatever our circumstances, this rst chapter of 1 Peter assures us that we are to live with real hope and real joy, because of the Easter truths. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! fi fi fl fi fi Page 7 of 7