Resurrection Reality

“Easter is a feast of freedom…it is God’s protest against death…For Easter is the beginning of the laughter of the redeemed and the dance of the liberated...when we sing our Easter hymns we celebrate the victory of life by laughing at death, by mocking hell, and by making the lords of this world absurd. Easter is the feast of freedom from death.”

Jurgen Moltmann

Today we gather to celebrate that feast of Freedom.

And we do so in circumstances that are far from ideal.

In the midst of uncertain times, where we are bombarded by bad news and overcome by the what feels like absolute chaos, how does the resurrection of Christ shine hope into our situation?

2000 years ago, a follower of Christ, perhaps one of the closest followers of Christ, named Peter wrote a letter 30 years after the first Easter, to a group of Christians in modern day Turkey that were in a very similar situation as we find ourselves today.

They weren’t facing a worldwide pandemic, but they were scattered, isolated, and troubled group.

They were living in a society very much at odds with their faith in Jesus, and so they were forced into their homes and struggling to find hope in the middle of hard reality.

And after a brief introduction, Peter does something that no experienced counselor would ever do.

Rather than empathize with their struggles, Peter starts his letter off by painting one of the most beautiful word pictures of hope in all of scripture.

1 Peter 1:3–9 ESV

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. 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.

1 peter 1 3-9

In these verse, Peter paints a picture of the Resurrection Reality. A world that is no longer darkened by the fear of death, but illuminated by the miracle of Christ’s resurrection.

A Tangible Reality

Peter was well acquainted with this resurrection reality, John records Peter’s tangible experience of resurrection reality in John 21.

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

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,

God has caused us to be born again into a LIVING HOPE.

Peter wants us to understand that the hope that sustains us regardless of the good or bad we face is a LIVING HOPE flowing out of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

And Peter is the perfect person to write about this LIVING HOPE.

A week before this account, as Jesus was being question by the Jewish and Roman authorities, Peter was outside around a fire with several others.

But at the end of Jesus’s life, Peter faltered in His journey with Christ.

As Jesus was being question by the Jewish and Roman authorities, Peter was outside around a fire with several others.

3 times he was questioned about his relationship to Jesus and all three times Peter denied having any relationship with Him.

After the 3rd denial, Luke says Peter went our and “wept bitterly”.

He had followed Jesus faithfully for several years, but in the end, when the one he had trusted in and hoped in faced death, he turned his back on Him.

That really is a powerful picture of sin.

Every time we sin we are turning our back on Jesus.

Choosing to pursue something or someone to bring us joy, security, or satisfaction that Jesus just doesn’t seem to be able to provide.

And much like Peter, our sin never leads to the thing we are looking for.

But the story isn’t over yet...

In , Jesus comes to sea where Peter and the others are fishing.

After He helps them capture a huge load of fish like He had when He first called them to be His disciples, He gathers them together around a fire for breakfast.

And then He turns to Peter:

He asks Peter 3 times “Do you love me?”

After the third time Peter is frustrated, but I don’t think he is frustrated at Jesus as much as he is frustrated with the reality of his sinfulness.

What the resurrected Jesus was doing for Peter in that moment was giving him a tangible picture of the LIVING HOPE attained by the resurrection of Jesus.

Peter’s good Friday reality was despair and hopelessness as he dealt with the consequences of his rebellion, but Easter Sunday made redemption and restoration possible.

And a week later, Peter received that restoration, that forgiveness, that LIVING HOPE from resurrected heart of Jesus.

Peter’s only hope for his rebellious heart is directing his gaze and affection toward Jesus.

More than 30 years later, Peter has gone through countless trials and struggled through impossible circumstances to make it to this day as he writes this letter.

Those moments with Jesus on the shore of sea, Peter’s life was completely transformed.

From that point forward, every situation Peter faced in life was seen through the reality of the resurrection. A LIVING HOPE.

Resurrection Reality

Written to followers of Christ in what is modern day Turkey.

They were spiritually and physically dispersed and isolated

Not because of a worldwide pandemic, but because of

They were suffering and struggling to follow Christ in the middle of overwhelming circumstances.

You listening now?

How are you holding up?

1 Peter 5:12 ESV

12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

Are the days getting longer? Are the numbers we hear daily piling up anxiousness in your heart? Are the pressures of finances and grocery shortages leading to worry? Are your days becoming marked by fear more and more?

1 peter 5

That in the middle of hard circ

If so, then you are in good company and you have come to the right place.

Not me. I broke into ugly-face crying twice this week over youtube videos and had to talk myself out of gorging on Oreos in a weak moment just a few days ago.

No, I trust you are here because there is some expectation that God might have some kind of word, some kind of help through the days we are facing.

And He does, through the words of Peter 2000 years ago to a group of Christians seeking to find hope in the midst of struggle.

1 Peter 1:1–12 ESV

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 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. 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. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 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.

The core of Peter’s message for us today is in verse 3:

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

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,

God has caused us to be born again into a LIVING HOPE.

Peter wants us to understand that the hope that sustains us regardless of the good or bad we face is a LIVING HOPE flowing out of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

In the middle of suffer Peter’s word for the people is LIVING HOPE.

If we are honest, I think the concept of LIVING HOPE is an attractive idea isn’t it.

And Peter is the perfect person to write about this LIVING HOPE.

Peter was a follower of Christ for the last 3 years of Jesus’s life and was a close friend of Jesus.

He was a close friend of Jesus and was a deeply committed follower.

But at the end of Jesus’s life, Peter faltered in His journey with Christ.

But, in the end,

As Jesus was being question by the Jewish and Roman authorities, Peter was outside around a fire with several others.

3 times he was questioned about his relationship to Jesus and all three times Peter denied having any relationship with Him.

After the 3rd denial, Luke says Peter went our and “wept bitterly”.

He had followed Jesus faithfully for several years, but in the end, when the one he had trusted in and hoped in faced death, he turned his back on Him.

That really is a powerful picture of sin.

Every time we sin we are turning our back on Jesus.

Choosing to pursue something or someone to bring us joy, security, or satisfaction that Jesus just doesn’t seem to be able to provide.

And much like Peter, our sin never leads to the thing we are looking for.

We are saying “

Seeking satisfaction,

But the story isn’t over yet...

In , Jesus comes to sea where Peter and the others are fishing.

After He helps them capture a huge load of fish like He had when He first called them to be His disciples, He gathers them together around a fire for breakfast.

And then He turns to Peter:

John 21:15–19 ESV

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

15-

He asks Peter 3 times “Do you love me?”

After the third time Peter is frustrated, but I don’t think he is frustrated at Jesus as much as he is frustrated with the reality of his sinfulness.

What the resurrected Jesus was doing for Peter in that moment was giving him a tangible picture of the LIVING HOPE attained by the resurrection of Jesus.

Peter’s only hope for his rebellious heart is directing his gaze and affection toward Jesus.

More than 30 years later, Peter has gone through countless trials and struggled through impossible circumstances to make it to this day as he writes this letter.

Those moments with Jesus on the shore of sea, Peter’s life was completely transformed.

From that point forward, every situation Peter faced in life was seen through the reality of the resurrection. LIVING HOPE.

Resurrection Reality

So as he sits to write the letter we read today, some of the first words that come to his mind are these:

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

1 peter 3-5

Peter knew what it felt like to face fear and uncertainty.

But his message isn’t “I am so sorry you are struggling right now. I will pray for you.”

His message is: “Praise God that, through the resurrection of Jesus, our present suffering do not get to dominate our thoughts or dictate our emotions.”

No, if you have trusted in Christ you have been given a NEW REALITY, a NEW BIRTH REALITY through the resurrection for Jesus.

The resurrection of Jesus brings with it three amazing realities:

1) A Living Hope

We use the word Hope a lot:

I hope this virus doesn’t impact my family.

I hope my kids are not wild all day today.

I hope we can make it through these months ahead.

These are all very legitimate uses of the word “Hope”, but they are the way Peter is using the word here, nor are they representative of Biblical hope.

John Piper defines biblical hope as “Full assurance, not uncertain desire...”

“Full assurance, not uncertain desire...” Piper

When says, “Hope in God!” it does not mean, cross your fingers. It does not mean, God might work for his servant. It means, be confident that he will! Be strong in God! Be courageous in God! Preach to your soul a sermon about the full assurance of hope!

We live in a world of uncertain desire:

Maybe this job, maybe this person, maybe this thing...

If only I had that...

If I could just...

What if...

Our hope is not absolute, it is uncertain, circumstantial (depends on everything going “right” way), and temporary (it doesn’t last).

For this reason, we are people constantly looking, constantly dreaming for something to base our hope in.

Some kind of foundation that hope can be built on.

But LIVING HOPE is a resurrection reality:

Listen to these words from Kathleen Nielson:

In the end there’s only one sure hope, because the life-and-death outcome of that hope has been proven. Jesus Christ died on that cross, bearing our sins, and he rose from the dead, sealing our salvation and our hope. Our living hope isn’t some abstract feeling; our living hope is Jesus himself.

Today, as we face the trials around us, our hope cannot be built on dreams of what might be or on the momentary enjoyment of pleasures we feel today.

If we do, where will we turn when things change and the pleasures fade, which they inevitably will?

The LIVING HOPE Peter is proclaiming is a hope that leads us to rejoicing, even when we face the grief of the trials of the day.

The fatally wounded healer came back on Easter, the day that gives a sneak preview of how all history will look from the vantage point of eternity, when every scar, every hurt, every disappointment will be seen in a different light. Our faith begins where it might have seemed to end. Between the cross and the empty tomb hovers the promise of history: hope for the world, and hope for each one of us who lives in it.

Philip Yancy

That sneak preview is captured well in Peter’s next Resurrection Reality...

2) An Imperishable, Undefiled, and Unfading Inheritance

Pam and I recently had our Wills completed, deciding who would get our stuff and who would care for our kids if we were to die.

It is a sobering thought, but a necessary one.

The word “inheritance” is one we are familiar with, but not one we likely think about often.

An inheritance is only received when someone’s life comes to an end.

When a loved one dies there earthly possessions are distributed to those left behind.

Peter is using the word inheritance in a more OT way here.

Inheritance in the OT has more to do with what you receive as a result of being a part of a family.

God’s chosen people in Israel were given the inheritance of the Promised Land, an abundant land flowing with Milk and Honey.

But that Land of blessing that was given to the people of God simply because God chose them to be His people, His children, was spoiled, tainted, and, ultimately, taken away because of the rebellion of the people against God.

The inheritance of the OT was an inheritance dependent on the obedience of the people.

But Resurrection Reality Peter is proclaiming to those Christians suffering the middle of their worldly trials was that, through the resurrection of Jesus, those who trust in Christ are recipients of an inheritance much different than the OT.

It is an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance-

it is not temporal or circumstantial because it is gained through the death-defeating resurrection of Christ and it is not tainted by the sin and disobedience of man because it is granted by the obedient work of Jesus on the cross and sealed in His new, redeemed body.

It is an undefiled inheritance- it is not tainted by the

So today, if you have trusted in Christ, been born again into the Living Hope of Christ resurrection, you stand in the shining light of the glorious inheritance that is “kept in heaven for you.”

How different would life be if we focused more of our attention on the Living Hope of our glorious inheritance than on the temporary circumstances of our day?

Our resurrection reality is not only for the future, it is a reason for rejoicing even for today.

3) A Sure Salvation

1 Peter 1:6–9 ESV

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 acknowledges the reality of the suffering of those he is writing to in vs 6, but he does not linger.

1 peter 6-9

We have a tendency to linger on our trials.

Rather Peter directs us to our 3rd resurrection reality, the reality of the salvation of God received by faith.

When I say salvation our thoughts go to heaven and hell don’t they.

When someone “get’s saved” they receive the promise that when they die they get to go to heaven and don’t go to hell

That is true and is really great news

But Peter frames this “salvation”, found at the end of verse 9, as a realized reality right now because of the resurrection and by the faith we have in Christ.

It is not a distant salvation that we must look forward to, it is a present reality obtained by the faith we possess in Jesus.

It is a salvation “ready to be revealed in the last time”, meaning we won’t see the fullness of it until the end of our lives, but it is a salvation that has implications for today.

The most pressing for today is the salvation we have received by faith in Christ is a promise that our present suffering will not be wasted.

Our joy in the middle of pain comes from the salvation Jesus accomplished by conquering death and freeing us to live in the reality of salvation.

So the trials we face today as believers in Jesus

Let’s say it right out and wonder at it: suffering is actually part of God’s plan (and so necessary) to bring about the shining riches of praise and glory and honor. Glory is the shining forth of God’s very being. His glory is what he’s after, shining forth even in us!

What is it that makes us long for this glory? Do you long for it? What makes us go through the fire? I think the answer comes in that next marvelous verse 8. And the answer is Jesus himself. Not the idea of Jesus, or the truth about him, but the Lord Jesus himself. The risen one, there at the hand of God shining in glory—right now, right there. Don’t you long to see him? Peter got to see him on earth, looked into his face and heard his voice. Peter saw him die, saw him resurrected, saw him standing there, asking, “Peter, do you love me?”

What is it that makes us long for this glory? Do you long for it? What makes us go through the fire? I

think the answer comes in that next marvelous verse 8. And the answer is Jesus himself. Not the idea of Jesus, or the truth about him, but the Lord Jesus himself. The risen one, there at the hand of God shining in glory—right now, right there. Don’t you long to see him? Peter got to see him on earth, looked into his face and heard his voice. Peter saw him die, saw him resurrected, saw him standing there, asking, “Peter, do you love me?”

Kathleen Nielson

Peter knew what is was like to live in the reality of the salvation that was revealed in the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead.

This is a reality for anyone who has trusted in Christ, anyone who has been born again through faith in Him.

What must I do then?

But what if you haven’t, what if you aren’t?

You might be asking, as those who Peter preached to in asked him

Acts 2:37 CSB

37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what should we do?”

What shall we do?

hear the response of Peter

Acts 2:38–39 CSB

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Acts

Repent simply means to turn away, mentally, physically, and spiritually, from sin and the worship of the things of this world and turn to Jesus as savior and Lord.

Peter adds this at the end there “this promise is for… as many as the Lord our God will call.”

If you are listening to this message right now and you are “pieced to the heart” by the beauty of the gospel and the greatness of Jesus, then trust that the Lord our God is calling.

Your simple, and yet profoundly transformative response is to come to Jesus, trust in Him, and receive the imperishable inheritance and living hope that He offers.

I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now, had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm one Sunday morning while I was going to a certain place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Chapel. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man, a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed; but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was, "LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.

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He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus—"My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, 'Look.' Now lookin' don't take a deal of pains. It ain't liftin' your foot or your finger; it is just, 'Look.' Well, a man needn't go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn't be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look. But then the text says, 'Look unto Me.' Ay!" said he in broad Essex, "many of you are lookin' to yourselves, but it's no use lookin' there. You'll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No, look to him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, 'Look unto Me.' Some of you say, 'We must wait for the Spirit's workin.' You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, 'Look unto Me.' Then the good man followed up his text in this way: "Look unto Me; I am sweatin' great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin' on the cross. Look unto Me; I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sittin' at the Father's right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! Look unto Me!" When he had gone to about that length, and managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, "Young man, you look very miserable." Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, "And you always will be miserable— miserable in life, and miserable in death,—if you don't obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved." Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, "Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin' to do but to look and live.

Spurgeon said:

I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said —I did not take much notice of it —I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed, so it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, "Look!" what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, "Trust Christ, and you shall be saved." Yet it was, no doubt, all wisely ordered, and now I can say,—

"Ever since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die."

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Resurrection Reality

1) A Living Hope

2) An Imperishable, Undefiled, and Unfading Inheritance

3) A Sure Salvation

What must I do then?