Living Hope

Intro: Facing Pandemics - Acknowledging the time we are in

Hello everyone. I’m sure it can be without saying that this has been one of the wildest, unpredictable weeks of my entire life. When I heard of COVID-19 a month or so ago I figured it would be something that would come and go like any news piece. But as we all know the virus has spread rapidly and has affected us all.

It has changed our daily lives because the campus is all but shut down. Many of people who were in our group is now at home away from campus. We are meeting in a church now because we can’t meet on campus.

Many around the world are in a state of panic. The stores are ransacked, people are very much concerned about health and safety. Governments are shutting down large gatherings and highly urging social interaction .

I say all these things to help acknowledge the situation we find ourselves in. This is a time that is unprecedented. We have never walked through something like this. I believe we should take seriously the wisdom of the professionals and the campus about how we interact socially and publicly.

Although the world around us are in a state of panic and fear, I believe God has positioned His people for an incredible opportunity if we will take it.

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” -

The Holy Spirit that lives in us, who empowers us, who leads us into truth, who brings life to dry bones, who convicts the world of sin, this Holy Spirit is not a spirit of fear or panic. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to live in power, love, and a sound mind. I believe that if we will commit ourselves to the way of Jesus during this time, we can see remarkable fruit and amazing testimonies come from this situation.

So tonight we are starting a sermon series in 1 Peter that will carry us the rest of the way through the semester. I know we were expecting vision night and the call for leadership tonight, but we will handle that topic in another way. We think it is strangely fitting how well 1 Peter speaks to our current circumstances, and we want to be a group that embodies the way of Christ during this time. We believe that 1 Peter has much to contribute to that cause.

We are going to start with tonight.

Text: What is going on in the time of 1 Peter

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 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. 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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Peter is writing this letter most like in the late 50’s or early 60’s AD. One of the heaviest themes we find in this book is confidence in God in the face of persecution and suffering. Christians in the time of the New Testament were on the margins of society. Some of them were facing hardship by being marginalized or neglected in society, and eventually the church began to be persecuted violently.

“It appears that these new believers in Rome were unsure of their status in the community, which already had its own difficulties in Rome. Peter turns to the history of Israel, with its own sufferings, to provide encouragement.”

It’s pretty clear that Christians were suffering, along with facing uncertainty and fear. Although we may not be suffering in the same ways now, there is an element of fear and uncertainty we face now as a people.

Let’s read what Peter tells us in chapter 1:

“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.” 1 Peter 1:3-5

Gospel: What does our text tell us

a. Living Hope

“We are born into a living hope”. This phrase is a powerful phrase. The word that he uses is a greek word that is only found in 1 Peter. This is the only time in the New Testament that this word is used and it means to “to renew or beget again”. To literally be made again by God.

This hope that we find ourselves in is not a dead hope. Before Christ, we were dead. We all were lost in sin, and had no hope.

Peter is pulling on the reality and assuredness of the resurrection of Jesus for this hope. The hope that bible speaks of is one that is full of life. This isn’t something that we conjured up or made up.

This hope that we find ourselves in is not a dead hope. Peter is pulling on the reality and assuredness of the resurrection of Jesus for this hope.

Peter tells us that in God’s great mercy, we were born into this living hope. God saw that we were without hope, we had no inheritance, and he caused us to be born again through his son.

Paul defines hope for us in Romans when he writes:

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently”

So hope is something that we look forward to in the future. It isn’t fully realized yet. We certainly experience God now, but something doesn’t quite seem complete. When we hope, we are expecting something in the future.

We instinctively know this. How many times have we been in situations in life where we hope for an outcome. We may have sent in our applications for college, hoping that we would be accepted. Or maybe we are hoping to have the job after we sent in our resumes. It would be really silly to say “I hope I get accepted to college”, after we already got accepted.

But that is what the Bible speaks to with hope. That we experience God now, but not fully. We long for something more real, more complete.

Peter takes it further and says that our hope is living. It isn’t only looking to the future, but it is actually alive. How do you know when something is alive? It moves, it breathes, it speaks.

“It is ‘living’, — by so describing it Peter indicates that it grows and it increases in strength year by year. If such a growing hope is the expected result of being born again, then perhaps the degree to which believers have intense, confident expectation of the life to come is one useful measure of progress toward spiritual maturity” - Wayne Grudem (1 Peter Commentary).

One of the best ways to know the health of our faith is the current status and strength of our hope. Is your hope alive? Or is it on life support. Just like we can expect a healthy child to grow up into a strong adult, if our hope is healthy it will grow continually as we grow in faith. Our longing to see God’s Kingdom come will be strong. Our certainty about the future will solidify. This hope won’t fail.

b. Undefiled, Imperishable, Unfading

The result of this hope that we have is that we have an inheritance that is undefiled, imperishable, and unfading.

The meaning of the word inheritance here is:

“any piece of property that passes by law to an heir o the death of the owner; sometimes regarding God’s promises to His people, like the land of Israel or a heavenly Kingdom”

This honestly should astound us. Do you hear that? This isn’t like an inheritance you that you don’t want. We have an inheritance of the Kingdom of God. We are co-heirs with Jesus. This hope we were born into has a priceless and incredible inheritance. Eternal life in the eternal kingdom of God.

Sometime amazing about this inheritance is that we can already now begin to live with it. Listen to what Jesus says in His prayer for us in John 17

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”

Because we know God and we know Jesus, we believe the Gospel that he proclaims, we already have entered into eternal life. We already have begun to enjoy the inheritance that is coming. But it isn’t fully realized.

I’m not sure about you, but I find myself living apart from God’s idea far too often. I find that sin is still active in my life. That I disobey. That I don’t always live the way God ascribes me to live.

We have a hard time imagining this because we have never really experienced anything that is undefiled by sin. But we have an inheritance coming that has never been touched by sin. We have a reward coming that isn’t going to perish. It will never fade. It is incredible. And everything that we ever wanted. And it is coming.

c. Eternally Secure

We have a hope that is living, our reward is perfect and unfading, and the best part about it is that it is eternally secure.

“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.”

That word “kept” is probably better translated “reserve” or “detained”. You make reservations at a restaurant to secure your seats. So that no one else gets your spots at the table. You detain someone so that they can not escape. That is what word means here when it says your reward or inheritance is being kept in heaven.

Our inheritance is under lock and key by God Himself. Nobody is going to steal it, take it, or ruin it. God has it secured for us in heaven.

No only that, but God is guarding us!

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

We are being protected now by God for the future that he has for us in his kingdom. Nothing is stopping it. It is a sure thing. It is a promise from God.

“God is continually using his power to guard his people by means of their faith, a statement which seems to imply that God’s power in fact energizes and continually sustains individuals personal faith.” - Wayne Grudem

We are guarded not for temporary relief or reward, but a salvation that will be revealed at the end of all things that is a full possessions of all the blessing of our redemption.

We Don’t Live like People Without Hope

In light of all of this, our hope in this reward and life that God is bringing should very much affect the ways that live our lives.

We don’t live like people without hope. People without hope will hoard supplies in order to secure their needs are met. People without hope will be driven by fear, and look to their own strength to provide for themselves.

1 Peter from the very opening of his letter is inviting us to live a life that is full of hope. To be a people of hope.

Here are a few ways we can live like a people of hope:

We Can Trust God with Our Future

God has already prepared a magnificent future for us. In light of all we talked about tonight, we can be sure of our future. We have nothing to fear because of the inheritance that God has for us. Even if the worst were to happen to us, it still does not change the promise God has for his people. Our reward and inheritance is secured in heaven for us.

We Can Love Our Neighbor

As I mentioned earlier in the message, we have an incredible opportunity to show the love and hope of Jesus in our lives during this time.

What if instead of hoarding supplies, we gave our things away to people who need them.

What if instead of commiserating or spreading fear/panic, we shared the future and hope we have in Jesus.

We could be an incredibly generous people in a world that is scared and uncertain

We can sing

One of the ways that the church has kept hope alive through famine, persecution, and hardship is singing and praying. So we are going to respond tonight by singing this song, and as we do, why not take this time to express your heart to God.

Thank him for his promises. For the inheritance we are receiving.

I will pray, then Josh and Adie will lead us in a song to close. But let’s turn our hearts heavenward and focus on that hope the Jesus secured for us, and that God has promised to bring to us.