Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

A Reason to Hope| Series: I Peter | 04-11-10

A Reason to Hope
Series: I Peter:
Finding Your Way in a 'Whatever' World
I Peter 1:1-12

  I. We are God's people and are a part of His victorious kingdom. 

 II. We have been born again and are guaranteed eternal life in heaven.
     I Peter 1:3-4, John 3:3-6, I Peter 1:23, Titus 3:5-7, John 14:1-3

III. We are protected by God and are exempt from unnecessary pain. 
     I Peter 1:5, I Corinthians 10:13

IV. We have meaning in suffering and are thankful it is temporary. 
     I Peter 1:6-7, II Corinthians 4:17, I Peter 1:6-9

 V. We have knowledge of the Gospel and understand God's overall plan.
     I Peter 1:10-12, Ephesians 3:9-11

Full Text 

On "Larry King Live", Martha Stewart was asked, "What kept you going through it all?"  Martha Stewart, who had just been sentenced to five months in prison answered, "My work, my ideas, my family, my friends, the constant evolutionary work of our company.  I have all that.  That's what's so good.  That's my support system."
What keeps you going when life is desperate?  What's your support system when life falls apart?  Would you answer like Martha Stewart and say that your hope is in your business, your family, and your friends?
I would suggest that that's not a satisfactory answer.  Friends will desert you.  Your business will not always fulfill you.  Family members may die.  We better have something more to sustain us during desperate times than the temporary, undependable things of this world.
At another point in the interview Martha Stewart said, "My life is my business and my business is my life."  Larry King responded, "Isn't that kind of sad in a way?"  Larry King is not yet a believer in Christ, but he recognizes there needs to be something more than just business.
Today we are beginning a study of I Peter. The Apostle Peter opens his letter writing about our ultimate hope in life.  Read along in Verse 1:  "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia."
Peter describes God's people as "strangers in the world."  This world was not their home anymore.  They were temporary residents here.  They were foreigners in the world and citizens of another kingdom so they shouldn't get their roots down too deep in this world.  He also describes them as "scattered."  Persecution had broken out against the church.  Christians were being harassed, arrested, tortured, and sometimes even beheaded, so many had fled their Jerusalem homes to find safety and freedom elsewhere.
They could have easily become discouraged because following Christ did not exempt them from problems-it compounded them.  Their lives were very unstable and their futures very uncertain.  So Peter writes to remind them of their ultimate hope so they wouldn't lose heart. 
This section should be vitally important to us because most of us have to battle discouragement at some point in our lives.  Some of you struggle with physical problems every day.  Some have family conflicts that seem hopeless.  Some have so much financial stress you wonder if you'll ever get out.  Some of you are discouraged because you've lost a loved one and grief overwhelms you.  We all have times of discouragement.
My time of greatest discouragement came during the last depression.  60% of the people of our church moved out of state to get a job.  One of our closest friends informed us he had lost his job and would have to move.  Our attendance and offerings continued to grow, but too many friends were leaving.
We all need this study of I Peter, a letter of hope written to God's people who are living in times of despair.  In the coming weeks, we're going to go verse by verse through this book that was written to lift the spirits of Christians.   We're calling this series, "Finding Your Way in a Whatever World."  The world has the attitude: "Whatever!  Nothing matters-just do whatever you want.  But the passive, pseudo-tolerant attitude of this world leaves us without direction and without hope.  And Peter writes that we have a daily hope in Christ.  Let's see five reasons why we can have hope in a spiritually indifferent world.
I. We are God's people and are a part of His victorious kingdom. 
Verse 2 reads, "who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:  Grace and peace be yours in abundance."
There are two words in this verse that give continual hope to Christians.  The first is the word, "chosen".  "We were chosen according to God's foreknowledge…for obedience to Jesus Christ." 
Now, some suggest that God chooses some to be saved and others to be lost.  That He arbitrarily says, "Ok, you go to Heaven and you go to Hell."  That's not what this means.  Did you catch the word, "foreknowledge"?  God knew you ahead of time so well, He knew the choices you would make.  God chose you because He knew you would choose Him!
Listen to what Jeremiah wrote in 1:4-5.  "4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.'"  God knew Jeremiah before he was conceived.  God knew him so well, He knew the choices Jeremiah would make.  And based on that, God set Jeremiah apart as a prophet.
We humans do the same thing.  When our boys were young, I used to help chaperone their school trips.  Normally, being the only male, I usually got all the boys, which was fine with me.  On one trip, my group of boys and I came across a huge metal gate with chain link in the middle.  And somebody had left it half-way open.  If it had been all the way closed or all the way open, it would not have been a problem.  But being half-way open, as soon as I saw it, I knew what my group of boys was going to do.  Without anyone saying a word about it, you know what they did.  They're boys!  They ran to it and climbed on because gates are made to swing on!  I just made sure they didn't do anything that would get someone hurt.  But shortly, a teacher came along with a group of girls and was instantly spitting nails.  The boys jumped off the gate and regrouped behind me.  I took a little of her wrath, but that was OK.  The boys had a minute of fun.
But the point is, I did not force the boys to jump on the gate.  I did not even suggest that they swing on the gate.  But I knew the choice they would make so I just made certain no one got hurt.
And God has given you a free will.  But He knows the choices you will make.  God does not force you, but He chose you because He knew you would choose Him.  Doesn't it reassure you and give you hope just to know that before you were born, God chose you to be one of His children!
The second word is, "sanctified".  I Peter 1:2.  "who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ ….
To be sanctified means to be set apart for a special purpose.  Like we saw happen to Jeremiah.  God knew him and set him apart as a prophet.  You have been chosen for a special purpose.  God has a specific plan for you life.  No matter how insignificant or ordinary your life seems to be, God has a plan for using you in His kingdom.  You may not understand how He is using you until eternity, but you can be certain that He is.  You are touching and affecting people's lives, and often you don't even realize it. And that gives us hope because we know that in the end His Kingdom is going to be victorious even if it doesn't seem that way now. 
No matter how evil this old world may be, no matter how imperfect the church may seem, in the end God's Kingdom will gain the victory.  "In the Revelation we read of the evil forces attacking Jesus, the Lamb of God.  We read in Revelation 17:14, "They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings-and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."  We have been chosen and we will conquer with Him.  And that gives me hope. 
Life is not meaningless.  Our world may say, "Whatever."  "There is no absolute right or wrong.  Whatever."  "There is no purpose or meaning to life.  You eat, you drink, you die.  What should you do?  Whatever!"  But I want you to know that every day of life does matter.  And you can have hope because The King of Kings has chosen you and sanctified you. And one day you will reign with Him.
Ok. Here's a second reason for hope:
II We have been born again and are guaranteed eternal life in heaven.
I Peter 1:3-4.  "3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you."
Nicodemus was one of the Jewish leaders.  It wasn't exactly politically correct for them to associate with Jesus so Nicodemus came to Jesus at night.  John 3:3-6.  "3In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.'
4'How can a man be born when he is old?' Nicodemus asked. 'Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!'
5Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."
When you are born into this world, you inherit the sin nature of Adam.  You will choose to sin as surely as a baby will cry.  Flesh gives birth to flesh.  Your sin separates you from God.  And unless you are born again, by the Spirit of God, you have no hope of heaven.
You hear people talk about "Born again Christians," but that's a redundant phrase.  All Christians have been born again.  If you are not born again, you're not really a Christian. 
I Peter 1:23 says, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."  The first step is to hear the Word of God and accept that it is true in its testimony about Christ.  Then in faith, you respond in obedience.  You choose to repent of sin and confess your belief in Christ and be baptized into Him.
When the seed of the husband is received into the womb of the wife the miracle of life begins.  Nine months later the mother's water bursts and a new baby is born into the world.
When the seed of the Word of God is received into your soul, the miracle of a new spiritual life begins.  As the word of God develops in your life, one day you say, "I really believe Jesus is God's Son and I'm ready to respond now, and you burst forth from the water a new baby in Christ."
Titus 3:5-7 says, "5[God] saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."  Once you've been born again, you have a living hope that lasts through life.  All other hopes are dying hopes.  But when you become a Christian your hope is in the person of Christ who lives forever. 
I Peter 1:3-4.  "…In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you."
Our hope of heaven won't perish-that means it's untouched by death.  It won't spoil-that means it's uncontaminated by sin.  It won't fade-that means it's unaffected by time.  It endures through the downsizing of businesses, rebellious children, aging bodies, and eroding values.  We have a hope that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for us.  Notice, our inheritance in Heaven is "kept," it's "reserved" for us. 
Last summer when we were on vacation, we had made a reservation for a motel room.  While I was checking in and getting our keys to a room, not one, not two, but three families pulled in looking for a room.  Each time the man at the desk informed them that there was a big car show in town and a big wine festival, and there wasn't another room for at least 25 miles.  Reservations make your trip a lot more relaxed and enjoyable.
Jesus has a room in Heaven reserved for you.  Jesus said in John 14:1-3,
"1Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."  Your room in heaven is paid for in advance by the blood of Jesus Christ.  Whether you check in at age 6 or 96, it's kept in heaven for you.  That living hope keeps you going and gives you confidence when life is falling apart.
Thirdly,
III. We are protected by God and are exempt from unnecessary pain. 
Verse 5 reads, "Who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."  The word, "shielded", was commonly used of  a military guard protecting something or someone.  When danger approached, a wall of shields went up to protect.  Today, when someone tries to shoot the president, someone guarding him will throw himself over the president and shield him with his own body.
Obviously, God doesn't shield you against all suffering.  But God does shield you from the vicious attacks of Satan that would destroy you or leave you incapable of fulfilling His will.  Sometimes we wonder if we can handle what is thrown at us.  But we are promised in I Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."  Sometimes, when life come crashing down upon us, we are tempted to give up.  But it will never be more than we can handle.  We are shielded by God's power.  God tells Satan, "No more."
I think we're often shielded by God's power and we don't even know it.  When I was in college, I was heading south on the west side and it was rush hour.  I got caught in the wrong lane and by the time I got over, I had missed the entrance ramp to 75.  That meant I had to run parallel to 75 through streetlights and stop and go traffic for a while.  I was definitely aggravated.  But before going very far, I noticed 75 had become a parking lot.  There had been a multi-car accident on 75 and if I had been able to get on when I wanted to, I would have been in the middle of it.  I believe God was shielding me.  And then I became a lot less aggravated and very thankful.
I wonder how many times God has placed His protection around us and we don't even know it?  Maybe He even shields us from our own stupid mistakes and we don't even realize it. 
Satan's goal is to kill, steal, and destroy and I'm convinced his attacks would often be more vicious if God did not restrain him.  A crippling virus is about to attack your child and one of God's angels wards it off.  A mugger singles you out in the parking lot late at night and at the last minute he backs off because he hears a police siren.  A drunk driver weaves across the centerline, and then gets back in his lane.  God is shielding you.  If you are like me and you look back at your younger years and some of the stupid things you did, you might wonder why you're not dead!  You might be, if God had not shielded you.
Maybe, instead of complaining about our troubles, we should thank God for shielding us.  Knowing that we are shielded by God's power from unnecessary pain, should give us hope to face the future.
Fourthly,
IV. We have meaning in suffering and  are thankful it is temporary. 
Verses 6-7. "6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
To be shielded by God's power does not mean we're exempt from all pain.  God does allow suffering that has a purpose.  Job's suffering proved him genuine to the world and provided an inspirational example for us.  Paul's thorn in the flesh was allowed to keep him from becoming conceited.  God allows pain that is necessary to strengthen us, comfort others, force us to rely on Him, appreciate the suffering of Jesus, or get our focus off this world.  Though none of us would volunteer for it, suffering often serves a positive purpose in our lives.
And remember, the pain is only temporary.  In Verse 6 Peter wrote, "…though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials."  You can put up with a lot if you know it's purposeful and passing.  A mother having labor pains can endure a lot because she knows it is bringing on the birth of her baby and that it won't go on forever.  Warren Wiersbe wrote, "When you're in the furnace, God keeps His hand on the thermostat and His eye on the clock."
Perhaps you're hurting a lot right now.  You're getting discouraged and can't imagine ever being happy again.  Don't lose heart.  Don't quit!  Continue to put your hope in the Lord.  He will see you through.  He promises in II Corinthians 4:17, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."  Compared to what we have waiting in eternity,
our suffering is light.
I Peter 1:6-9.  "6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Our joy and our hope does not come from our suffering.  Our joy comes from our love of Jesus Christ and the salvation He gives.
Peter gives one other reason for hope. 
V. We have knowledge of the gospel and understand God's overall plan. 
Look at Verses 10-11. "10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow."
The Old Testament prophets who predicted the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, did not completely understand it.  Even though they wrote in symbolic language that the coming Messiah would be led like a sheep to the slaughter and His body would not be abandoned to the grave, they didn't fully understand their own predictions. 
Verse 12 says, "It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things."
Even the angels didn't fully understand the plan of salvation until it unfolded.  When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was going to give birth to the Son of God, Gabriel didn't have a total understanding of how we could be saved.
Salvation was a mystery.  Literally a "hidden" thing.  So, how is it uncovered?  How is this great mystery to be revealed?  In Ephesians 3:9-11 Paul writes that he was given grace to preach "9And to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord."
It is through the Church, that's you and me, that the mystery of salvation is revealed.  If nothing else, that should give you hope for eternity!
What about you?  Do you have a living hope?  If not, did God choose you to hear His Word today?  Are you ready to be born again and sanctified for His purpose?  Jesus wants to reserve a place for you in Heaven.  If you are ready to respond to His invitation and receive that living hope, come believing in Jesus and we'll help you confess your belief in Him and be baptized into Him.  Or if you've already done that and would like to place your membership with us, we invite you to walk forward as we sing.

Based on a 08/15/2004 sermon by Bob Russell of South East Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky.