"Our Living Hope"

Intro:

In this world there are many things that will bring you down. Everyday we hear that Iran is growing in their nuclear weapon capabilities. In recent weeks and months there have been people devastated by earthquakes all over the world. Some people are suffering from droughts while others are dealing with massive flooding.

The economy is in the tank. We still have soldiers who are fighting and living in harms way. There are an increasing number of social issues and religious battles being fought in the courts…

Yes, there is much disturbing news out there! But I am here to tell you today that the born again child of God has a living hope… a hope that surpasses all understanding… A hope that is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ shed blood… and His righteousness.

The Apostle Peter, says it this way…

1 Peter 1:3-5 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

It is from these verses that I have gotten the title for the series that we are starting today… “Our Living Hope” and we will be going through the book of 1 Peter for the next several weeks… and given my track record… probably the next several months.

Meat:

Background:

As is my custom, before we dive right into the content of this wonderful portion of God’s Inspired Word, I want to spend some time today and give you some background of this book.

As you are doing your own personal Bible studies at home, I want to encourage you to take a little extra time and really dig into the first 2-3 verses of whatever book you may be going through… Because there is so much information within the first couple of verses that often gets overlooked.

This morning, lets pick apart the first 2 verses of 1 Peter… (Read vv.1-2)

Right away we are introduced to…

1. The Greeter

You could also fill that blank in with the Author, the Writer… but for the sake of trying to match up my main points, I have put “The Greeter.”

Of course it is pretty obvious that the greeter is…

1.1 The Apostle Peter

I want to mention this early on… as we go through this study, there may be times where I slip and say the Apostle Paul, when in fact I mean Peter. If I catch it when I do it, I will make sure to correct myself…

Peter wasn’t always called Peter… his birth name, or the name that his parents had given to him, was Simon. And he was…

1.2 Led To The Lord By Andrew His Brother

John 1:41–42 NASB95

41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

I want to stop right here and mention that… there are so many people today who feel that they are either not as important or not important at all when it comes to ministry. They figure because they are not a Pastor, not a board member, not a Sunday School teacher… that they are some how on a lower level than those that are involved in these areas of ministry.

If you are here this morning and you feel that way… I’ve got two words for you… Stop It!… Stop thinking that way… Remember what we talked about a few weeks ago??? Everyone has their own position in ministry and each position is just as important as the rest.

What do we know about the Apostle Andrew???… not very much… Andrew did not write any books of the Bible, he was not one of the main leaders of the early church… Andrew is only mentioned in Scripture around a dozen times… and most of those times he is only mentioned by name with the rest of the group… I would say that Andrew was a behind the scenes type of Christian.

Maybe he was the one that made sure their meeting rooms were set up… you know, like the ones who set up the tables and chairs in the CMB before potlucks… that doesn’t just happen automatically.

Maybe, he was the one that made sure everything was cleaned up after their gatherings were finished… swept the floors, took out the garbage, put out the fire…

We know that he was a fisherman… maybe he was the one that cleaned and cooked all the fish for their gatherings....

Again, we don’t know a lot about Andrew, but we do know this… as insignificant as he may seem or even felt at times… a tremendous work occurred because Andrew went after his brother Peter and brought him to the Lord and Peter became one of the Greatest of the Apostles.

Without Edward Kimball, D.L. Moody may have never heard the Gospel… Without Mordecai Ham, Billy Graham may have never turned his life over to Christ… and Without Andrew, there may have never been an Apostle Peter.

You don’t have to be a great and famous preacher conducting city-wide campaigns to accomplish much for the Lord. Andrew did a tremendous work by just bringing his brother to the Lord and it resulted in many people hearing and accepting the Gospel.

After Simon was brought to Christ…

1.3 His Life Was Changed

Christ Changed Simon’s name to Peter (Or Petros - in the Greek)… The NKJV says “Cephas” which is just the Aramaic version of Peter… Peter means Rock or “A Stone”… and this changing of names had great significance. At least two very important truths were indicated by this change. They are the authority of Christ and the alteration of character.

Quite often in the Old Testament the authority of God is seen in His changing the names of others. He changed the name of Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, and Jacob to Israel… When Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter, He was showing that He authority over Peter.

Which, if you study the life of Peter, you’ll see that he especially needed the authority of Christ impressed upon him. Early on in his Christian walk, Peter was pretty headstrong and didn’t hesitate to rebuke and even argue with Jesus. But once he started to submit to Jesus’ Authority… his character began to change.

And that is the most obvious lesson from this name change… The change in character that Peter would experience through submission to Jesus Christ.

John G. Butler says this… “Simon was most deficient in many areas of his character when he came to Christ. He was rash, headstrong, proud, impulsive, unstable, and had trouble with his mouth. But the name Peter, which meant rock, spoke of firmness, stability, strength, faithfulness—all a contrast to his character deficiencies.”

This change didn’t happen overnight… After his Salvation, Peter argued with Christ… After his salvation, Peter cut off a guys ear… after his salvation, Peter denied knowing Christ… 3 times! and yet Christ still used him to build His church.

Many people mistakenly feel they must clean up their act before they come to Christ. But they have it all wrong—they need to come to Christ to let Him clean up their act. He is the only one that can do it!

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

“In Christ” is the key. Leave that out and you’re just the same old person, dead in your trespasses of sin...

Peter was a man of action, it was all or nothing with him. He was a take-charge person, a born leader, and a man who spoke up quickly and bluntly, leaving no doubt as to where he stood on certain issues… Peter would never get lost in the crowd. You would always know where he was, what he was thinking and what he was doing. I don’t believe there was ever a dull moment with Peter… and he is the one that has written this wonderful letter of Hope that we will be studying in the coming weeks.

That brings up our next question to answer… who was this letter written to?

I want you to see…

2. The Group

1 Peter 1:1-2 “1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”

This group was not limited to one location, nor was it one church but included believers in various places… The first word that Peter uses to describe who he is writing to, is “Pilgrims”…

Some versions may have strangers, exiles or even aliens,… basically meaning people who are away from home. They are no longer in their native homeland.

The next phrase tells us why they were pilgrims, why they were away from home…

Peter says “To the pilgrims of the Dispersion...” … or

2.1 Scattered Abroad

This speaks of the work of persecution. The early church in Jerusalem was severely persecuted which resulted in many of the believers being “dispersed”, or as the NASB puts it...“scattered”, throughout the world. This Dispersion (or scattering) actually helped to carry the Gospel to many parts of the world....

Such as “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,...” Today these locations comprise the country of Turkey. It is hard to believe that Turkey at one time was prominent in the Gospel. Today it is a dark country oppressed with Muslim religion as 98% of its population are Muslims… and Turkey plays a key role in End Times Events as the nations rise up against Israel.

So Peter is writing to people that have been or are being persecuted, people that are away from home due to the persecution and he calls them, in v.2… “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…”

We’ve talked about the doctrine of election before, as it is a doctrine clearly spoken of in Scripture. Each time, I have said, that it is the subject of debate and controversy for many lay people and Bible Scholars.

For the sake of time this morning, I will say this… Peter speaks of the elect of God, those who are chosen of Him…

They were…

2.2 Chosen By God

They were chosen according to God’s divine foreknowledge and sovereign plan.

I will also say this… God knew our need for redemption due to the fall into sin. So, He provided the means of salvation through the sacrifice of His Son and has ordained the salvation of those who receive Jesus Christ by faith in His finished work on the cross.

Peter did not desire to create debate or confusion. In fact, he desired the complete opposite. He reminded the churches of their glorious position in the family of God. Even though the world may have rejected them, Peter reminds them that they had been chosen of God.

This is the hope that we have as well… even when the world rejects us, rejects our morals, rejects our beliefs… we can stand firm, knowing that we have been chosen by Almighty God!

Peter also reminded them of the power they had within… because they had been “Sanctified by the Holy Spirit”… Having been chosen of God and received Christ as their Savior, they enjoyed the indwelling of the Spirit. He was there to lead and guide their lives, equipping and empowering them to live according to the desire and will of God.

It is with the help and power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to live out what we say we believe, each and every day!

The forces of this world possess great power and influence, but we have a divine advantage. The Holy Spirit has the wisdom and ability to empower us to face whatever the world throws at us.

When our faith is challenged, and we are tempted to give in to the demands and temptations of the world, we have a source of strength to help us overcome. We do not have to give in to these temptations… We can rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us resist and flee from any temptations Satan tries to ensnare us with.

We have been Chosen by God, Sanctified by the Spirit, and we are sealed by blood of Jesus.

“for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ...”

Obedience refers to putting our faith in Christ…

Peter is reminding this group of the shed blood that brought their salvation. Jesus Christ offered Himself as the atoning sacrifice for sin. He redeemed them from sin and reconciled them to God. They were no longer separated from God, but were now abiding in Him through Jesus Christ.

It is through His Shed blood that we have the hope of an eternity in Heaven… If you have been saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, you have nothing to fear. We have no way of knowing what tomorrow may hold, but we do know who holds tomorrow.

Finally this morning… We’ve looked at the greeter, we’ve looked at the group he is writing to, now lets look at...

3. The Greeting

The last part of v.2 says “Grace to you and peace be multiplied.” A simple greeting, yes, but still significant…

you see…

3.1 Grace Comes Before Peace

“Grace” is the Greek customary greeting, and “peace” (or shalom) is the customary Jewish greeting.

Peter knew the struggles they faced. Many of them were weary and some may have contemplated abandoning the faith. He sought to remind them of the grace of God available to all who believe.

They were the recipients of God’s unmerited favor, poured out lavishly on those who belong to Him. His grace brought forth a peace that would surpass all understanding. By the help of the Lord, they could endure the trials ahead, and emerge from them victoriously.

“Grace” comes before “peace” in this greeting, and this sequence is true in salvation and in every area of our lives… We cannot have the peace of God without His Amazing grace.

No doubt every believer here today has found comfort in the grace and peace of God at some point in life. We all deal with adversity, pain, uncertainty, and heartache, but God’s grace allows us to persevere in the faith.

And as Satan’s time on Earth gets shorter and shorter… We will need God’s Grace and Peace all the more until He calls us home.

Closing:

Peter sought to encourage and strengthen the persecuted believers with this epistle. He understood the trials they faced because he too had endured similar situations. He sought to help establish their faith and ground them in the Lord. He knew if they were to endure, they would need the Lord’s help and guidance.

I am not one of these doom and gloom preachers, but I am convinced we are facing a storm unlike we have ever experienced. Satan is coming for those who are committed to Christ and determined to follow Him, he wants to make us stumble… anything he can do to slow the spreading of the Gospel message.

But we have a “Living Hope”… and His name is Jesus… do you know Him today?... Have you received Him by faith in salvation?… If not, then I have to say that there is no time like the present… Because we are not guaranteed tomorrow.