Living Hope

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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

In "Man's Search for Meaning", Viktor Frankl recounts what happened to his friend, a fellow inmate in Auschwitz:

"I would like to tell you something, Doctor. I have had a strange dream. A voice told me that I could wish for something, that I should only say what I wanted to know, and all my questions would be answered... I wanted to know when we, when our camp, would be liberated and our sufferings come to an end."

"And when did you have this dream?" I asked. "In February, 1945," he answered. It was then the beginning of March.

"What did your dream voice answer?"

Furtively he whispered to me, "March 30."

When my friend told me about this dream, he was still full of hope and convinced that the voice of his dream would be right. But as the promised day drew nearer, the war news which reached our camp made it appear very unlikely that we would be free on the promised date.

· March 29, my friend suddenly became ill and ran a high temperature.

· March 30, the day his prophecy had told him that the war and suffering would be over for him, he became delirious and lost consciousness.

· March 31, he was dead.

This shattered hope lowered his body's resistance against the latent typhus infection. His faith in the future and his will to live had become paralyzed and his body fell victim to illness - and thus the voice of his dream was right after all" (p. 97).

He died because he lost hope.

We all need hope.

The world cannot offer any real hope:

(examples)

Jobs are lost

money dries up

relationships falter or fail - people leave or are taken away

Peter is writing about 30 years after Jesus and he is writing to a group of believers in Asia Minor who are marginalized in society at best and were on the verge of persecution soon to come.

These

In the middle of the current struggles of these believers and in anticipation of what may be yet to come, Peter writes to help focus on one thing - HOPE.

If we are honest, we all need this today - some hope. If you don’t need it today, you will likely need it tomorrow.

What if there was a hope which would be able to carry us through anything the world can throw at us?

There is. Peter calls it a living hope.

2 important distinctions about what Peter is talking about:

LIVING hope

LIVING hope for those who are BORN AGAIN

LIVING hope

for those who are BORN AGAIN

LIVING hope

“hope”

Generally, when the word ‘hope’ is used today, it is attached to some uncertainty:

ILLUST - I hope the Phillies will make it to the World Series this year. But just like every sports team from Philadelphia there is a large amount of uncertainty in that statement.

New Testament idea of hope is different.

When NT uses term ‘hope’ it is referring to a guarantee - at least when it references what God intends to do.

Christian hope vs worldly hope

1 Peter 1:13 ESV

13 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 our general usage today

‘hope fully’ does not mean to ‘wishfully desire with a degree of uncertainty’ the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 6:11 ESV

11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,

Heb

‘full assurance’

NT Hope = “confident assurance that God will do what he has promised.”

Opposite of living hope = dead hope

ILLUST - House in Oley - previously owned by master gardener - I had no idea what was dead or alive - afraid to mow anything - how did I know what to cut and what to save? Saw which produced fruit / flower. Living produces something useful and beautiful.

Worldly hope brings about a wringing of hands while the NT hope a resting assurance.

2. for those who are BORN AGAIN

The living hope that Peter describes is not given to everybody.

‘born again (into) a living hope’

How are you born again?

1 Peter 1:23 ESV

23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

How is one born again?

Gospel - good news - of Jesus’ death and resurrection - that it was for you.

To have new hope is to see the world anew again.

There is a

Christian hope vs worldly hope

in our general usage today

A hope that is worth anything needs to be real, sure, and relevant

real not a rumor

(kids hoping to go to Disney World this year)

sure not wishful

(fingers pointing not fingers crossed)

relevant not distant

(hope for someone else does me no good)

Pastor Halim Suh has pointed out that the reason Peter calls this a ‘living hope’ is because it is anchored in the past, secure for the future, and presently experienced.

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

Being born again by which we have the living hope of salvation is all a work of God from beginning to end.

“You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”

--- Jonathan Edwards

God supplies the grace by which we are saved.

he, his - not me, my

born again / beget - God’s work not ours

ILLUST - children ‘pushing’ wagon while I pull - I’m doing the work, but they are participating as well - God does the work we cannot do, but allows us to participate

don’t think you do the work - this is a good thing because:

You didn’t start it - you can’t stop it.

born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

The Resurrection shows us our hope is real - but this is only the case if the Resurrection is real. The historical reality of the Resurrection is vital because without it we have no real hope - living hope comes THROUGH the Resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:14-19

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS CRUCIAL TO OUR HOPE...

1. If Christ is not risen, then the apostles were liars, and our faith is vain! -

2. If Christ is not risen, we are still held guilty for our sins, no forgiveness has occurred! -

3. If Christ is not risen, those who have died as Christians have perished, they are lost! -

4. If Christ has not risen, then we do not have a "living" hope, instead we are to be pitied by others! -

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), –19.17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Jesus really lived

No one argues that a man named Jesus of Nazareth lived in 1st Century Palestine whom many saw as a miracle-worker.

Jesus really died

No one argues that this man died at the hands of the Romans and that some claimed him to be God

The tomb is empty

Virtually no one will argue the fact that there is no body in the tomb

If there had been a physical body they would have produced it at Pentecost when Peter was preaching Jesus rising from the dead

Something happened

Bible claims there were eyewitnesses to the risen Jesus at a time when it could have been refuted

Jesus appeared to hundreds of people at one time

All the apostles maintained that Jesus rose from the dead - even when they had nothing to gain and everything to lose

If the Resurrection is real then Jesus is alive. If Jesus is alive then my hope is living. It’s fruitful.

How does Jesus being alive make my hope living?

His presence is here

His promises are vindicated

We have a living hope because we follow a living Christ.

The fact that Jesus is alive brings hope because

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

‘inheritance’

Two people with same menial job, same bad work conditions, same bad lighting, no vacations, long hours.

· One will get $20,000 at the end of the year

· The other will get $20,000,000.

- The first person will grumble, complain, do the job poorly, maybe even quit

- The second guy will whistle while he works

o he will put up with the filth gladly

o he won’t let the long hours keep him down

o Though he’s bone-tired, he’ll pull himself out of bed gladly to get to work.

A Christian is someone doing the job of life with more than $20 million secured for the future.

Won’t go away - the inheritance is a permanent promise

unlike this world:

2 Peter 3:10 ESV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

2 Peter 3:10–13 ESV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

2 pet

There is nothing in this world that can promise to be imperishable.

pure, perfect

no sin

Does not lose its beauty or appeal.

Kept in heaven for you.

1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary 1. Joy in Future Heavenly Reward (1:3–5)

The form of the verb ‘kept’ (perfect passive participle) indicates a completed past activity (by God) with results that are still continuing in the present:

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

You are guarded by God’s power

‘guarded’

Not only is the inheritance guarded, but heirs who have been born into that inheritance are shielded by God’s power. “Shielded” (phrouroumenous) is a military term, used to refer to a garrison within a city [ uses the same Greek word]

God is holding on to us - while we are holding on to him.

ILLUST - My child holds my hand as we cross the street but in reality I am hold their hand.

You may only feel the pressure of your hand in his, but when the danger is real you will find he is holding you.

(What can ever separate us from the love of God?. . . )

Involves two things and affects in two ways:

God’s guarding

Our faith

The Living Hope affects us presently in two ways:

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

Think of it this way. You go to an AIRLINES COUNTER at the airport, and the ticket agent says, “Your flight to Miami is on time. There’s been some turbulence, but we absolutely guarantee that you’ll get there. Our plane is in great shape. Our pilot is fully qualified. You might experience a few bumps, but you’re going to get there just fine.”

“Hang on to my ticket,” you say as you make your way to a different ticket counter.

“Are there any seats available for the flight to Miami?” you ask. “You bet,” says the agent. “And we guarantee you’ll have a smooth ride. No bumps, no jolts, no airsickness. Guaranteed smooth sailing all the way. It’s the landing we’re not so sure about. You see, our landing gear is not working quite right, and we seem to have a problem with occasionally landing nose-first. Also, the brakes haven’t been serviced recently. But we guarantee the flight will be smooth—even if the landing is a little iffy.”

If you have to choose between a smooth flight with a crash landing, or a bumpy flight with a safe landing, you’ll no doubt opt for the bumpy flight.

There are those who say, “I don’t want trials. I don’t want to go against the world’s system. I don’t want to deal with all of those church disciplines you talk about. I just want smooth sailing.” They are fools, for although they might escape a few bumps presently, they’re ultimately headed for a fiery crash landing. On the other hand, those of us who presently deal with a few distressing bumps along the way, will make a safe landing in heaven.

That’s what Peter will emphasize over and over throughout his epistle as he sets our sights on the big picture, on heaven. [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2003, S. 1545]

Difficulties are not the enemy of our joy - distraction is.

Frees us from running away from fear and anxiety.

Anxiety is present when assurance is either lacking or unused.

Frees us from running toward desires we feel we must satisfy.

Live differently because of the living hope.

Illustration of Hope – 2 People with the Same Job

Two people with same menial job, same bad work conditions, same bad lighting, no vacations, long hours.

· One will get $20,000 at the end of the year

· The other will get $20,000,000.

- The first person will grumble, complain, do the job poorly, maybe even quit

- The second guy will whistle while he works

o he will put up with the filth gladly

o he won’t let the long hours keep him down

o Though he’s bone-tired, he’ll pull himself out of bed gladly to get to work.

A Christian is someone doing the job of life with more than $20 million secured for the future.

3 Actions:

Receive by faith the hope through the resurrection.

How do you gain the living hope? Through faith in the resurrection.

Be free to love - release the anxieties and strivings so you can focus on others

Worship - ‘Blessed be. . .

Living Hope

Introduction

Living Hope

Anchored in the Past (3)

Motivated by God’s mercy

Rooted in the Resurrection

Secured for the Future (4)

Imperishable

Undefiled

Unfading

Presently Experienced (5)

Gives joy in suffering.

Frees us to love.

Conclusion

Living Hope

Introduction

Living Hope

Anchored in the Past (3)

Motivated by God’s mercy

Rooted in the Resurrection

Secured for the Future (4)

Imperishable

Undefiled

Unfading

Presently Experienced (5)

​

Gives joy in suffering.

Frees us to love.

Conclusion