Finding living hope

We are in our 5 week out 6 of our series this morning The Heart Matters

This 6 week series leading up to to Easter Sunday will encourage you to examine your heart, your motivations, and your loves as you walk in repentance toward Resurrection Sunday. This season reminds us that we are all broken and in need of a Savior who has overcome sin and death.

This morning we will be in 1 Peter 1:3-9. So if you have your bible go ahead and turn there. If not you can follow along on the screen in a few moments.

Last week we talk about favouritism. What that looks like for believers. You see favouritism has no place in God’s kingdom. Loving our neighbor means making wrongs right and treating all people equally. This does not mean you have to agree with what they believe in but we must love them like our bother and sisters.

This week has we continue to come closer to resurrection Sunday. We will be trying to answer the question how can we find joy when so much is going on around us.

So before we look at what Peter has to say. I have a question for you. So think for a moment. You do not have to answer this out load.

Are you facing a trail right now?

If you are not facing one right now you might in the near future. We have all faced trials, pains and other things at some point in our life if we are not going though them now. These trails will test your faith. They will test your drive. They will test your relationship. How can we make it through a trial that we facing. Do we just run and hind until it passes. Do we set there and take it. Or do we we try to find hope through the trail. Let’s see what Peter says to say.

1 Peter 1:3–9 CSB

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 5 You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials 7 so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We have hope

We can find hope in Christ.

it is important to remember the context of the book. Peter was writing to believers across the region (1 Peter 1:1–2) who were facing great hardship for believing. It was his goal to encourage them to live out their faith, not because it was easy but because it was the source of life and hope. These believer were face a lot of hardship for them. SOome were being marginalized by society, alienated in relatiionships and even threatened with a loss of honour and social standing.

In Canada, though we are living in a largely post-Christian world, we do not usually experience persecution for our faith. There may be many who disagree with us, but it should not yield a comparison between those across the globe who are being forced from their homes, harmed, or killed for their faith.

Just like the early church. You to can have hope when. You you face trials

You will face trails

Trail will come your way. We go though a lot of different trails in our life. Some can and will be very hard to get though. What can you and I do will we are in the middle of these trails. Where can we turn? Who can we turn too? You see we can turn to our salvation that saves us. We can turn to Jesus and let him lead us through the trails.

These trails help build you

Each trail you go through you can learn from them. Some make us a better person. Some help us understand life a little more. Some can and will draw is back to God.

Read verse 7

Gold is a great thing to look at here. Have you every watch someone refine Gold? I used to watch the show Gold Rush a lot. after a sense of find gold. They would sometimes show the guys heating up the gold to make gold bars. well in this process they are burning off all the dirt, other metal and anything else that could be in there. So that the gold is almost 100% pure but can never be 100% pure.

Just like the gold is refined. So are you when your face trail But the diffence is we are 100% forgive for all the stuff we do. You are more valuable the gold. We can have this certainly because of one man.

Jesus is Lord

Verse 8-9

None of us have every seen Jesus. We have no idea what he looks like. We still love him. Jesus die on the cross for you and I. He sacrificed himself so we can have enteral life with him. He conquered death so we did not have to face life with out God.

If you are going through a trail this morning and can’t see a end. Turn to Jesus and allow him to be your rock. If you haven’t expected him into your heart why are your waiting. He is waiting for you to turn back to him.

We have living hope because of the resurrection

By God mercy we can find hope in all that we do. In all that we go through.

You and aI can live in joy, knowing that God has the victory over our sin. No matter what they are.