THE LIVING HOPE
1 Peter 1-9
V:1 Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God's
elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia,
Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 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 and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and
peace be yours in abundance.
3 Praise 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, 4 and into an
inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5
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. 6 In this you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of
trials. 7 These 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. 8 Though 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, 9 for you
are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
DEFINITION
OF THE LIVING HOPE
My emphasis
in this text is in verse 3, A Living Hope.
Praise 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,
Webster
defines hope
Hope definition is - to cherish a
desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.
The Bible describes hope as
the confident expectation in the truth
Of God’s Word.
It is hope that puts
excitement into our lives. I remember when I was
A child I waited with
anticipation for Santa Claus to bring my desire toys. Only to discover that it was
believing in a lie.
God’s Word is true. It is
undefiled and unchangeable.
When we put our hope in
circumstances or events we can often
Be disappointed. Events are
only temporary. They provide no lasting
Joy.
The LIVING HOPE is
permanent and will never disappoint.
The LIVING HOPE is not
based on us or others. The LIVING HOPE
Is not based on this world.
The living hope is based on the Lord
And will never disappoint.
Christian hope is not
self excitement, but Holy Spirit excitement.
Christian hope is eternally
produced in the heart.
The LIVING HOPE produces
courage, patience, and holiness.
GOD’S DISCUSSION OF HOPE
Hebrews
11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped
for, the conviction of things not seen.
Romans 15:13
May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Psalm
71:5
For
you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
LIVING HOPE IS JESUS
Let's look at verse 3 again
Praise 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,
Praise be to
God. He is worthy to be praised. He is
worthy to be adored
And honored.
God spoke and all
things came into existence. He spoke and
made us
Into His image
and likeness.
He spoke and by
His mercy, we became sons and daughters though
The resurrection
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
He spoke and gave
us new birth in a LIVING HOPE.
Born dead in our
sins but made alive in a LIVING HOPE.
The LIVING HOPE is
eternal. The LIVING HOPE is permanent. The LIVING HOPE
Does not change
with time. The LIVING HOPE is not based
on us or
Anything we can
do. The LIVING HOPE flows from God our
Father.
The LIVING HOPE is an inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading,
Kept in heaven
for us.
The LIVING HOPE brings power into our lives. Jesus said that
all power
Over heaven and
earth has been given to me.
I have the power
to be encouraged. I have the power to be enriched.
I have the power of
a sound mind. I have the power to love those I like
And those I can’t
stand, Because I got a LIVING HOPE. My LIVING HOPE
Is found and
grounded in Jesus Christ.
Look at verse
three again. The LIVING HOPE is driven by the great
Mercy of
God. His mercy endures forever.
V:4 and into an
inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5
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 stuff in my
refrigerator has an expiration date. The stuff in my cabinet
Has an expiration
date. My car has an expiration date. This body of mine
Has an expiration
date.
But my LIVING
HOPE has no expiration date. The text says my LIVING HOPE
Can’t change, because
it is kept in heaven for me.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 "Do not
store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in
and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Peter is trying
to get us to not focus on today or tomorrow but the glory
That awaits us in
heaven.
SHIELDED BY THE
POWER OF GOD
Verse 5 says all
the days of your life on earth, you are shielded by
Power of God. I
have a part in this LIVING HOPE. I must operate in faith.
My LIVING HOPE
informed me and keeps me informed that my
Salvation is
stored up in Heaven until Jesus returns for His church.
When things get
rough, the LIVING HOPE reminds us that this is not
Our home, we are
just passing through.
The LIVING HOPE,
the Gospel of Jesus Christ reminds me that God’s
Mercy is
overflowing to the worst of sinners.
LIVING HOPE BRING
JOY
V:6 In this you
greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief
in all kinds of trials. 7 These 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
When things are rough,
when nothing is going my way, when I am facing trials
And tribulations,
I have to THINK MYSELF HAPPY.
It is that LIVING
HOPE that reminds me that there is a reason for my
Troubles.
1. Troubles are
placed in our lives to refine our faith.
2. Troubles are
placed in our lives to build up our faith
3. Troubles are
placed in our lives to prove the genuineness
Of our praise.
a. The genuineness
of our honor to God
b. The genuineness
of our glory to God,
When Jesus come
back for His church, he want be looking for
Fake worshippers.
We sang a song;
My Worship is for real.
When you can
praise God when you are down, that’s genuine praise.
When you can
thank God for the bad times, that genuine praise.
When you say
Hallelujah when you get up in the
Morning, that’s
genuine praise.
When you can see
the calm in the middle of the storm, that LIVING HOPE.
When you spent
your last dollar, but see treasures in heaven
That’s LIVING
HOPE.
The objective of
your troubles is the praise, glory, and honor of the
Lord.
Sometimes God got
to get crazy with us to make give Him
The Glory.
Nobody ought to
make me say thank you Lord for all you do
For me. That
ought to be the issue in my heart.
It’s the LIVING
HOPE that makes it my issue.
LIVING HOPE
GROUNDED IN LOVE
V:8 Though
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, 9 for
you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
A. The result of the Living Hope is strong and increasing
Faith
1. Peter’s letter was written to the
Christians scattered from
Jerusalem to other areas because
of persecution.
2. Peter commends them for their undying
faith.
B. It is good to encourage in the middle
of your struggles.
1. We should encourage others to love
Jesus
2. We should encourage others to believe
that His words
Are True and apply to
them.
3. We should joyful in Jesus in the midst of our trouble,
4. We should pursue a state of mind that
is filled with
Inexpressible joy.
5. We should pursue a state of mind that
is filled with a
Glorious joy.
C. THE GOAL OF LIVING HOPE
1. Growing faith through trials
2. Salvation for our souls
3. Inexpressible Joy
4. Inexpressible peace
5. Thankfulness
6. Gratefulness
7. The love of Jesus Christ
8. Confidently expecting a positive
outcome
9. Confidence in the truth of God’s
Word.
10. A home in glory
No comments:
Post a Comment