The Reason For Our Hope
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Today we continue our series on the Great Commission. We’ll have one more next before having our youth take over the service and then returning to our message series from Galatians. As the title suggests, I want to read the great commission again this morning.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus gave this commission or command to the disciples after he rose from the dead. Let’s break it down to see what 4 things he commissioned us to do:
Go - So many times we have treated church as a come and see, come and receive event where we expect those who need Jesus to come to church to find out about Jesus. Jesus tells us to go, unfortunately we’ve become so comfortable in staying.
Make disciples - This is the ultimate goal in going out, that we would bring people to an understanding of who Jesus is and that they would become disciples. The goal of evangelism is not just getting people to accept Jesus, the goal is to get people to be a disciple. In order to be a disciple, there has to be a commitment to submit to a disciplining process. A process that brings someone to a place of maturity in Christ, not just a place of attending a church.
Baptize them - Baptism is a public proclamation of our faith in Christ. It is a statement of us identifying ourselves with Christ. It is how we begin in telling the world who we belong to.
Teaching them to obey - This is a continuation of the disciple making piece. This is a process that is continual from salvation to the end of life here on earth. People need to be reminded frequently of what Jesus taught, because it is so easy to forget and chose teaching that fits our feelings or desires.
Not only does he give us something to do, he ends with a promise for us - I am with you to the end of the age. What He has promised will happen. This promise is the only way in which we can even do what Christ has asked of us.
We are all here today because someone did that for us. Someone went to where we were and told us about Jesus. It’s up to us to continue that legacy and go and tell others about Jesus.
But what is it exactly that we are tell others about Jesus? I’m glad you asked. Turn with me to 1 Peter 3. We are going to read a good chunk of this chapter before we focus in on just a few verses. Peter is exhorting us in the way in which we are live out life out in Christ, especially within a world that is far from Christ.
8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Peter is speaking from experience in these verses. He has been on the receiving end of some very harsh words and treatment. Peter would say to us if that happens, you are blessed. This is not something to fear, but perhaps something we should expect and be ready for.
***put Vs 15 up***
Verse 15 gives us the key - We are to revere Christ as Lord and be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have. Peter is saying - be ready to share your faith in Christ with anyone, but especially those who would threaten or slander you. If you are ready to talk to them, talking to your friends is going to be easy. Let’s take a closer look at verse 15.
We are to revere Christ as Lord. This is where our conviction to share our faith starts. If we revere Christ as Lord, we’re going to do what he says, even if it is a bit uncomfortable. Let me encourage you this morning. If that is where you are at...that’s OK. It’s OK to start from a place of uncertainty. Remember though, Jesus has promised to be with us to the end of the age. If Jesus is with us, we have the power to do the things he’s asked us to do.
We are to be prepared. This is why Brent is here today. He is going to give us some tools so we are prepared to talk about the hope we have in Christ. Preparation doesn’t just end here today though. We’ll need to have follow up training, people coaching one another, people practicing together...this is how we’ll be prepared.
We are know the hope that we have. I am going to talk a little more about this in a bit...We’ll come back to this.
We are give our answers with gentleness and respect. Oh how I wish that people viewed the church as full of people with gentleness and respect. Generally speaking, those who are not gentle and respectful are often the loudest. They get a bit more attention that those who are gentle and respectful. I have made it my goal as a pastor to be know as someone who is gentle and respectful. That doesn’t mean I won’t say hard things, but when I do, I want it to be gentle and respectful. There are times I have interacted with people and I can tell they expected me to harsh and disrespectful because that was their experience with other pastors. That breaks my heart. Church we have to work hard at the gentle and respectful thing while also speaking the truth. It is possible...Jesus did it.
I want to spend the rest of the time this morning talking about our hope in Christ. Let’s start first with a definition of hope. I’ve had a little help with this from John Piper...there are three ways in which we use the word hope on a regular basis:
As a verb - I hope I catch a lot of fish. Hope is a desire of a thing in the future.
As a noun - My hope is that the fish are biting. Hope is the thing we desire.
As reason - Using the right bait is the only hope of catch fish. Hope is the reason for getting the thing we desire.
In each of these uses, hope actually has a doubt behind it. There is a uncertainty in seeing that hope come to pass. In our typical use of the word hope, we actually have doubt. I always hope I catch a lot of fish, but history shows that’s just not going to happen every time.
Peter talks about giving an answer for the hope we have in Christ. While it shares some characteristics with our typical use of that word, it also comes with a confident expectation. I’m not that confident in my hope to catch lots of fish, but I very confident in my hope that is placed in Jesus. Jesus gives me a confident assurance of all the promises he’s made.
Let’s go to the book of Romans, chapter 4 and get some more detail about this hope we have and some examples of godly, biblical hope.
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Vs 18 - Against all hope - When worldly hope fails, when all logical reason fails.
Abraham placed his hope for a son in the promise God made to him. It was by faith that Abraham was able to grab hold of that hope for a future son. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith like this:
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Faith includes the past, the present and the future. I have faith that God raised Jesus from the dead. By faith I stand here preaching God’s word knowing God supplies the power. I have faith that Jesus will return one day.
It is within our future faith in God that our current hope lies.
I have the hope of resurrected body. I have the hope of an eternity in heaven with Jesus. I have hope in the power of the Holy Spirit in my life to transform me day by day to make me more like Christ.
Hope is the thing people need most. It is the single biggest thing that people are searching for. Unfortunately, people have a false hope in things that are certain to let them down:
Themselves - I can quit drinking, doing drugs, gambling, porn any time I want. I have that will power. False hope.
Others - My spouse, boss, friend, pastor...is someone I can always count on. They will never fail me. False hope.
Money, jobs, homes, cars, things...all false hope.
What happens when we have false hope and we’re let down? We look to escape from the hurt and disappointment. I believe this is how people ultimately get addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn, money, food, entertainment....you name it - these are all methods of escape. If this is you, the only true source of fulfillment is Christ. Put your hope in someone who will never let you down.
I want to close by reading the first part of Romans 5...
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
***I will pause and talk about a few of these verses as I go***
***Leave verse 8 up until I pray***
