The Future is Looking Bright

The First Epistle of Peter Part I: Greeting (1:1–2)

The church consists of communities of people living outside their native land, which is not Jerusalem or Palestine but the heavenly city. These people owe their loyalty to that city, from which they expect to receive their king. That their life on earth is temporary and that they do not belong is underlined by the use of “sojourners

A Symbol of Hope

In the 15th century, European countries and merchants were looking for a better way to trade in the eastern lands of India and China. Road travel was long, expensive, and often dangerous, but that was still the best option. Imagine staking your livelihood and potential fortune on a journey that might take you a year or longer. I would be pretty worried especially on the return trip with all sorts of goods to sell, knowing that bandits might be hiding around the next corner.

It’s no surprise then that people explored sea routes. Columbus headed west and accidentally discovered the New World, as it was called. But others looked for a way to travel around Africa to get to the East Indies. This sort of exploration was fraught with danger and uncertainty, and the explorers didn’t even know if it was possible to travel by sea. They tried anyway.

The first Europeans to sail around the southern tip of Africa were Portuguese, let by Bartolomeu Dias. But they discovered what seemed a nearly impassable area near that southern tip, a rough patch of sea that was prone to storms. Bartolomeu Dias was able to cross this area, but it filled him with so much terror that he named it the “Cape of Tempests,” or the “Cape of Storms.”

But the name didn’t stick.

After considering the name further and perhaps getting pressure from his king, Dias changed his tune. When traveling along the coast of Africa, this cape marked the location where the ship stopped traveling mostly southward and began moving mostly eastward. It became the turning point in the journey where the travelers could point more toward their destination. At the time, it was believed that this cape was the spot where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans met, which would encourage any seafarer on a long journey. The storm prone waters themselves became a promise of smoother sailing ahead.

With all of this in mind, Dias changed the name of the cape. Instead of being called the Cape of Storms, it became known as the Cape of Good Hope. It went from being known for trouble to becoming a symbol of hope on the journey.

Can the same be true for us?

In our own journey through life we come to circumstances that are stormy. What lies around the corner is uncertain. There is a direction we want to go, but it seems like we’re headed the wrong way, like a ship taking a long, southward journey around Africa to finally go eastward. It’s in these moments when we have to choose how we’ll look at the situation. Will we focus on the storm or cling to the hope to get through it?

Hope allows us to navigate through the storms of life. Take any circumstance, any hardship, any struggle where the outcome looks bleak, and then introduce hope. The situation changes. The raging, chaotic circumstance becomes the perfect backdrop for hope to shine brightly.

This world needs people who will shine brightly in hope, regardless of their circumstances. Perhaps this need prompted the Apostle Peter to write his letter to scattered Christians. is where we’ll be, and you can turn there in your Bibles. Because of persecution, many of these early Christian communities had to scatter to all sorts of places. Even in their new communities, they still found mistreatment and difficulty. So in the opening verses of Peter’s letter to these churches, he injects some hope and reminds them that the future is looking bright. Let’s read .

1 Peter 1:3–13 ESV

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. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In these verses we find hope. A few specific points of encouragement can give us hope. The first encouragement is that we should have confidence based on what is truly certain.

In his book, Putting Faith to Work, Robert McCracken shared a story concerning Leo Durocher. Everyone who follows baseball knows Durocher, how once he was brash, arrogant, loud, impetuous, impatient, and a merciless slave driver. His philosophy was wrapped up in his description of Mel Ott: “Nice guys finish last.”

He never dreamed that one day he would be a “nice guy” and finish first, and when that day arrived he had matured enough to give the team credit. He explained that all he did was to wave them home from third base.

But the crux of the story concerned the fabulous center fielder, Willie Mays, of the Giants. After joining the club, there was a period when he made only one hit in twenty-six times at bat. The old Durocher would have banished him, benched him, or sent him back to the minors, but he did none of these. One day, the twenty-year-old player came to his manager, weeping, and begged to be benched. The new Durocher draped a fatherly arm about the strong young man’s shoulders: “Don’t worry, Son, you are my center fielder, even if you don’t get another hit all season.”

Willie strode from Leo’s office with buoyant step and promptly began hitting the ball. He became one of baseball’s immortals, because at a strategic moment in Willie’s life, Durocher was keen enough and understanding enough to do the right thing at the right time.

G. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1986), 327.

Have confidence based on what is truly certain.

The quality of hope is determined by its object.

When we talk about hope, we don’t mean some vague sense of hopefulness that has no basis in fact. For example, how would you have responded to me three months ago if I told you, “I have hope that the Orioles win the pennant this season”? You might suggest I have hope in something that is more possible, like winning the lottery.

The hope that Peter describes is not some kind of wimpy wish but rather eager expectation.

He states that God has caused us to be born again to a living hope. Verses 3-5 explain why this hope is alive. It comes from a historical event - the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This comes from Peter, the guy who was so fearful and so lacking in hope that when Jesus was arrested, Peter denied ever knowing Jesus. Three times he did that. What changed in Peter was the historical fact that something changed. Jesus rose from the dead. Peter’s hope is not simply wishful thinking. It’s based on an event in history.

Paul writes about this same, confident hope in Ephesians.

Ephesians 1:18 ESV

having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Those riches of God’s glorious inheritance are something Peter describes in detail. Because we have been born again into God’s family, we receive the right of inheritance. The Bible describes our salvation in terms of adoption. We have a new Father in God, and we are placed in his family. We are his. That comes with the right of inheritance. Last January, my sister and brother-in-law adopted their child, Asher, down in Florida. Florida adoption law actually makes clear that the adopted child has inheritance rights. One website put it this way: “This enables adopted children to claim all the rights of inheritance on equal footing with the biological children of the family.“ That’s what God did for us.

New birth into God’s family means we get an inheritance, and this is what Peter says about it.

It is imperishable.

Unlike those leftovers I like to stash in my fridge, our inheritance can never go bad.

It is undefiled.

No outside influence can tarnish or ruin it.

It is unfading.

This word describes the way a flower eventually wilts and withers away. This is not a fleeting thing that lasts only for a short time. It lasts.

It is kept in heaven for you.

It is set aside. You have a reservation with your name on it.

And Peter tells the Christians that they themselves are being guarded through faith for salvation. Do you know the entourage of professional bodyguards that surround the President? This is the same kind of word picture we find here. There is a Fort Knox of faith that surrounds you and your promised inheritance. It’s held until that ultimate salvation - what we call glorification - that will one day take place.

And nothing can change that.

I think sometimes we worry that there are hidden terms and conditions that will one day mess us up. Maybe that’s because of the odd terms that we sometimes find in contracts. Companies sometimes put hidden clauses into contracts, sometimes just for fun.

In Amazon’s terms of service for some of their software, Section 57.10 places restrictions on its use. Then it adds, “However, this restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization.” In other words, use the software however you like in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

One renter received his lease agreement in Microsoft Word, meaning he could edit it, and so he did. He added clause 16, which stated, “Lessor shall provide birthday cake for Lessee(s) in the weekend closest to their birthdays, which are June 7 and February 17. Vanilla cake is not acceptable." The lessor did not notice the change and signed the agreement.

As you know, companies get into April Fool’s Day pranks nowadays as a way to advertise. One company, called GameStation, put a scary clause into their user agreements for that day. Users were asked “to grant Us a non-transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your immortal soul, and any claim you may have on it, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from gamesation.co.uk or one of its duly authorized minions.” Apparently the 12% of people who noticed the clause were able to opt out of that section and receive a coupon.

God doesn’t have a hidden clause. Our hope - our inheritance - is a sure thing. And Peter tells the Christians that they themselves are being guarded through faith for salvation. Do you know the entourage of professional bodyguards that surround the President? This is the same kind of word picture we find here. There is a Fort Knox of faith that surrounds you and your promised inheritance. It’s held until that ultimate salvation - what we call glorification - that will one day take place. Nothing can change that. Commentator Tom Schreiner writes about the believers, that “their future salvation is certain, and hence their lives should be marked by an undaunted hope.” How about you?

And nothing can change that.In reading Peter’s claims, commentator Tom Schreiner writes about the believers, that “their future salvation is certain, and hence their lives should be marked by an undaunted hope.” How about you?

Is your life marked by an undaunted hope?

You can determine what you hope when you figure out what would make you fall apart. The person who goes into a tailspin when investments fail place hope in the stock market. The parent who goes into depression when her kids rebel placed hope in her children. The man who can’t cope with his company being bought out has placed his hope in his career. The student who can’t handle a bad grade may have placed hope in performance.

Keep your confidence in what is truly certain.

to a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

to an inheritance

imperishable

undefiled

unfading

kept in heaven for you

Even with that confidence, you might ask what that has to do with today’s struggles. Our text gives advice for this one, too.

Points to a future salvation

Let joy shine through trial.

Christians are told to rejoice in their coming salvation. Maybe they would have added, “But things are really hard right now!” tells us,

1 Peter 1:6 ESV

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

Are any of you “grieved by various trials”? We face trials all the time. We are grieved - we are weighed down - when the trials hit. Someone gets sick, and it becomes emotionally draining for everyone. People close to us leave, or a trusted co-worker gets transferred. Some struggles just make life harder.

These believers were probably dealing with trials because of their faith. I think those could one day be coming our way, too. Peter says two things about trials.

Trials are often necessary.

They are part of living faithfully in a fallen world.

Trials last only for a little while.

He also tells us why they exist, ,

1 Peter 1:7 ESV

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.

Your faith gets to be tested and found genuine! One day Jesus will come back. One day we will see him again. Each of us longs to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” tells believers to take joy in their trials:

James 1:2–3 ESV

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Paul puts all these trials in perspective for the temporary things they are.

2 Corinthians 4:17 ESV

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

,

Romans 8:18 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Our proven faith is described as more durable that purified gold or silver.

If you truly have hope in eternity, then let your joy shine through this temporary trial.

Proverbs 17:3 ESV

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.

Isaiah 48:10 ESV

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

One of the saltier managers in baseball history was Leo Durocher. He was known for saying, “I never questioned the integrity of an umpire. Their eyesight, yes.” He was also credited for the saying, “Nice guys finish last.” Perhaps he mellowed out over the years, because one day he found himself in the locker room talking to a young rookie who had gone 0-23 at the plate thus far in his career. It was pretty clear that the big leagues were just a bit much for this young player, and he knew it, too. Durocher sat and listened to the player weep as he begged to be benched or even sent back to the minors, but Durocher wouldn’t do that. Instead, he put his arm around him and said, “Don’t worry, Son, you are my center fielder, even if you don’t get another hit all season.” The next at bat for the young Willie Mays was a towering home run off pitching great Warren Spahn. Mays went on to become one of the greatest hitters of all time. In the midst of his trial, he was given hope to cling to.

The Right Thing at the Right Time

But the crux of the story concerned the fabulous center fielder, Willie Mays, of the Giants. After joining the club, there was a period when he made only one hit in twenty-six times at bat. The old Durocher would have banished him, benched him, or sent him back to the minors, but he did none of these. One day, the twenty-year-old player came to his manager, weeping, and begged to be benched. The new Durocher draped a fatherly arm about the strong young man’s shoulders: “

In his book, Putting Faith to Work, Robert McCracken shared a story concerning Leo Durocher. Everyone who follows baseball knows Durocher, how once he was brash, arrogant, loud, impetuous, impatient, and a merciless slave driver. His philosophy was wrapped up in his description of Mel Ott: “Nice guys finish last.”

He never dreamed that one day he would be a “nice guy” and finish first, and when that day arrived he had matured enough to give the team credit. He explained that all he did was to wave them home from third base.

But the crux of the story concerned the fabulous center fielder, Willie Mays, of the Giants. After joining the club, there was a period when he made only one hit in twenty-six times at bat. The old Durocher would have banished him, benched him, or sent him back to the minors, but he did none of these. One day, the twenty-year-old player came to his manager, weeping, and begged to be benched. The new Durocher draped a fatherly arm about the strong young man’s shoulders: “Don’t worry, Son, you are my center fielder, even if you don’t get another hit all season.”

Do you see how hope in a certain future can affect our confidence and joy now?

If you truly have hope in eternity, then let your joy shine through this temporary trial.

If you truly have hope in eternity, then let your joy shine through this temporary trial.

Our text today gives us a third reminder.

G. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1986), 327.

Don’t let the unknown paralyze you.

Even with confidence in our eternity - even when we can have joy amid trial - sometimes the unknown takes the wind out of our sails. It can prevent us from taking the action we need. We’re like those 15th century Portuguese explorers who weren’t sure what was around the cape. Fear of the unknown is real. So many people opt for a bad known situation rather than look for something more. In Volume 41 of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Nicholas Carleton presented evidence that the fear of the unknown is the underlying fear behind other fears and anxiety disorders. Co-opting Tokien’s Lord of the Rings terminology, Carleton called fear of the unknown “one fear to rule them all.”

We always want to know what will happen next, but Peter makes clear the unknown shouldn’t stop us.

1 Peter 1:8–9 ESV

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.

1 Peter 1:

He then mentions all of the Old Testament prophets and the prophecies they made. Sometimes I want to be like them and hear a direct, unmistakable word from God that I can write down. Peter says they got to prophesy about the grace that was ours. How cool! But then he makes clear those spiritual giants were in the dark about the mysteries we now know. Jesus said something very similar.

Matthew 13:17 ESV

For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Uncertainty is part of life. We may wonder what is next, but that shouldn’t stop us from living now.

2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV

for we walk by faith, not by sight.

We live in a world that is full of uncertainty. And we come from a long, spiritual heritage of people whom we think were giants but were really more like us. They had their struggles and times that looked bleak. It’s clear to Peter that we are in much better shape than they were. Bright, shining hope has been delivered to us that is firm enough that we can hold confidence in it; it’s sure enough that we can stay joyful even when enduring hardship; and it’s bright enough that we can look to it amid confusion. That’s our shining hope.

Even angels, who serve in the presence of God, are shown to be curious and themselves have longed to investigate those promises of the prophets. They never let uncertainty keep them from serving God, and neither should we.

As we close, let’s consider what that hope should embody in us.

Expectantly embody obedience.

1 Peter 1:13 ESV

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In light of all this truth we are told to set our hope where it belongs, in the unshakeable truth that allows us to weather any storm or calamity or trial or uncertainty. We do it with a sober mindset and looking toward action. And what is that action? Peter goes on to explain its us obediently following Christ and pursuing the holy living that’s only possible through him.

In light of all this,

In light of all this,

One day there will be the big reveal. It’s the day that Jesus comes back and calls us to live with him in glorified bodies untainted by the stain of sin. Just like an extreme home makeover reveal, we eagerly look forward to that day.

But Peter tells us that now is the time for the big “preveal”. We don’t wait to live out the certainty of what we know to be true. We get to live confidently in this life, because no matter what happens here we know the joy that’s coming.

It reminds me of when my little kids get upset over something small. Someone hit rewind on a video this past week, and Olivia started to get upset. She didn’t know how easy it would be to set it back right. Or some pages in Wesley’s book were ripped, and a meltdown was well on its way. He didn’t know the amazing power of Scotch tape to quickly fix his issues. When we grow up we have the perspective to see that some problems either don’t matter or can easily be solved.

That’s the perspective we get today. No matter what happens to us or what circumstance we find ourselves in, it’s temporary. Something great is coming, and it frees us to endure hardship now and move on to action.

Hank Dekker was a man who lost hope in his life. An active man, he went into despair after undetected glaucoma left him blind in 1978. Because of his hopeless response, Hank made choices that cost him his job, his marriage, and his home. He began eating out of dumpsters to survive. After slowly getting back on his feet, Hank discovered sailing. Something about being out on the waves in the salt air filled him with confidence.

What insurance covers (Ann Hodges meteorite) https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/02/130220-russia-meteorite-ann-hodges-science-space-hit/

Hank eventually became so confident in sailing that he attempted something no blind person had ever done. He attempted to sail solo from San Francisco to Honolulu, a 2,393 mile journey. He used a braille compass and a voice-sensitized GPS system, but there was another, sixth sense that helped him navigate. He said, “I feel the motion of the sea and hear the waves breaking and hissing. I can hear the dolphins riding the bow. I love the moisture in the air, the sound of the petrels,” long range sea birds. But on his 1983 voyage, he ran into the rough seas of Hurricane Henrietta and capsized. News outlets assumed the obvious worst, but Hank Dekker found a way to bail the water, right his boat, and correct his navigation so that he was able to hear the reports of his death over the radio while sailing into Honolulu’s harbor!

In an interview, Dekker said, “It's a nice feeling knowing you're doing something no one else ever has. When you're disabled, everyone wants to take care of you. You can be as safe as a bird in a cage. Then you realize the birds in the trees are the ones who are singing."

Friends, let’s joyfully pursue our faith together, despite any hardships or disabilities, because we have a sort of sixth sense of our own. It’s that certain hope that allows us to look beyond our current circumstances and remain confident in our calling as Christ’s followers.