Intro: We are
currently studying thru the Book of First Peter where Peter is writing to Believers
who are enduring Persecution
A)Persecution that is about to get more Intense
Nero result in the
B) Peter is writing to encourage them in light of their
suffering & their difficulties & He does so first of all by reminding them whos there are
1)
V.2
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God
Wonderful truth that we have been Chosen to be Gods Kids We belong to Him
C) Today we are going to see that the 2nd
thing that Peter seeks to remind
Of is the WHAT THEY HAVE TO
LOOK FORWARD TO V.3,4
3Blessed 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, 4to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
Several yrs ago on the
Campus of
Kansas St. Univ. During football
seasons / the campus bookstore Would hang big
banners in window w/ a message of
encouragement to their team for the upcoming game.
A)Some of the banners read as follows Destroy Navy , Wipeout Washington, Colober Colorado .
B) But on the week that the team was to play #1 ranked Nebraska Corn
the sign read a little bit differently . Maintain dignity against Nebraska
1) See the way they saw it there was no hope of beating mighty
Neb.
1)
When we look at our society we see that things are
going down hill
FAST
!!!!! (Increase abortion/ Violent Crimes/ Drugs )
D) But Peter reminds
us that as Believers we are a People of Hope Begotten again to
a Living Hope Key verse here in Ch.1
1)
In
fact Everything that Peter says here in Ch.1 is Connected to these 2 Verses
See if
we understand what we have to look forward to it will affect the way that We:
A)View our Trials v.6-10 / Our Understanding of the
O.T. saints v.10-12
1)
It
Becomes our Motivation for Living Holy Lives v.13-21 / As well as affecting our
Relationships w/ other People v.22-25
B) The
EXTENT that we Understand & See the Reality of the Living hope
that we
have in Christ - will affect every aspect of our lives
1)
So this is going to be our theme as we march thru this first
Chapter
In the next few
weeks
I. Peter begins by telling us how we came into this Hope -
A)We were Begotten again or Born again- We were born again into it !!!
B) John Ch.11 Jesus goes to the Home of Mary & Martha their
Brother Lazarus. Had died Martha meets Jesus says Lord if You had been here
.
1) Jesus
responded Your Brother will live
../ Martha
I know at last Resurrection
C) Jesus response : I am the
resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall
live. 26And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do
you believe this?
1) The
Moment you and I put our faith in Jesus Christ we become Recipients of this Wonderful Hope
E) We pass from
the domain of Hopelessness & unsurety to / a Life of Hope and Security in
Christ
He rescued us from
the domain of darkness, and transferred
us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
A)We who were Slaves of the Kingdom of this World
Living in darkness / having no hope because we were w/out God
1)
Paul says we have been Set free &Transferred into the Kingdom of
His Son
AA) We are talking a total Change of Residence Taken
out of one Kingdom Darkness / Placed in New Kingdom
One of the
tragedies after the Emancipation Proclamation was that so many of the freed
slaves had no where to go. In fact many of them opted to continue to live in
Slavery rather that be free & w/ nowhere to go.
BB) Our deliver gives us a place to belong transferred into the Kingdom of his own dear Son
1)
New Start In Christ New Creation
. Old things
. New
2)
New Identity citizens of the Kingdom
3)
New Future Living Hope
C) Peter tells us that this was all made possible by the abundant mercy of
God / New every Morning - Mercy is not getting what you deserve
1) We who
were deserving of death / Hell / are given Life & Hope
We deserved the Worst We are given the Best !!!!!!
D) So
this Hope is made available to us thru the Mercy of God and we
become recipients of it by the
Believing in Jesus
II.
The Characteristics of this Hope : Note several things
1st It is a Living Hope :
Hope it doesnt rain/ Hope it/ Hope
Padres win division
1) Example
Publishers 32 cents / Did I check mail everyday? No !
B)But
the Bibles definition of hope is quite a bit different - An
absolute expectation of coming good
1)
You
can bank on it - You can count on it - you can plan your life
around it and should-
SURE THING
The Very fact
that Peter calls it a LIVING HOPE Makes this even more clear -
A)The Word Living could also be Translated Dynamic giving idea that it is something which is working right now,
1)
A hope which works in my circumstances today.
B)Why is it a Living or working Hope? Because it
has as its object
A
LIVING SAVIOR
1)
Peter
says it comes thru the Resurrection. Of Jesus
C) Our Hope is only as strong as the Object of our
Hope !!!
A)So that every teaching every Promise is filtered
thru the lens of the
Resurrection.
/ No Resurrection. No Heaven / Nothing look forward to /
to live for
B) Jesus told His Disciples in John 14 / In my fathers house are many
I
am going to prepare a place for you
/ return
.to myself
1)
With
out the Resurrection. Those are just empty words
D) Their
Hope wasnt in a Theory / wasnt in some Eastern Philosophy
Their hope was in a Resurrection. Savior
1 John 1: 1That which was
from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of
life
(
Jesus was ALIV E to them)
John says Our
Faith is in a Risen Lord seen handled / listened to
He is the Word of
Life / Validates everything else !!!!
A)Think about how special the Resurrection. Was to Peter
His final memory of Jesus was that of failing Him Denied
Him 3 times
B) The Cross & death of Jesus left Peter HOPELESS
He would go to the grave remembering his string of Broken Promises
1)
The Resurrection. Of Jesus signaled that there was Hope for Peter !!!
C) It meant so much to Peter He went to His Grave
refusing to Deny His
Lord
again and asking to be Crucified upside down
1) Not worthy to be Crucified in the same manner as His Lord
All of
us our Motivated by certain Points of Ref. / our Points of Rev. rivet our
attention & Alter our Behavior
A)When a college student prepares for a major grade
threatening test he views all of life thru the grid of that impending exam
B) He spends long nights in the Library instead of hanging out w/ friends everything is seen thru that lens
1)If he
neglects that point of Rev. & doesnt prepare he goes into that
exam
feeling fearful & guilty
C) If He studies hard approaches it w/ confidence
/ Hope of doing good
Think
about the Young woman who becomes engaged Her whole world is turned upside
down by that point of Ref.- Wedding
A)Once The day is set suddenly everything is Dramatically
Changed
B) Listen the Certainty & the Reality of the Promise creates w/ in her a hope that not only occupies her attention
1) but
radically ALTERS EVERYTHING IN HER LIFE
C) She views every dress store & Bridal Magazine thru a new lens a lens
that is formed by the future reality of that day !!!
1) Her friends are now objects of her invitation list & potential candidates
for her wedding party
D) Peter wants us to Realize that Our Point of ref .for this hope is the Empty tomb of Jesus
1) That is what Motivates us
He who said He is coming back / He who declared I am going to prepare a place
for you
.. ROSE AGAIN
Paul
in Writing to the Eph. wanted us to Know the Reality of the Resurrection.
Hearts & Minds Enlightened
A)Know By experience The
exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe Power that brought
Jesus from the Grave
B) Exceeding Greatness ( Surpasses our Comprehension) one comm.. described it as an Ocean of Power
C) Paul is praying that the Ephesians would realize
& walk in the Reality of the Power of God that is in Them available to
them- In Christ
1)
Thru
the working of the H.S.
D)That is what Peter is making Ref. To here Living Hope working
it is Active based upon the Reality of the
Living Savior
2nd
thing This living Hope includes an
Inheritance:
A)When we were transferred into Gods Kingdom we
became Heirs w/
Christ
B)What Does
our inheritance consist of :
1)
Heaven
( With all of its Beauty & Splendor )
2)Seeing Jesus ( We are going to be Like Him
3)New
Bodies ( No more Pain Sickness)
4)Rewards ( What we have done gold silver Stone)
Although the threads of my life have
often seemed knotted, I know, by faith, that on the other side of the
embroidery there is a crown. Corrie
Ten Boom
3rd
It is Incorruptible ( Everything in this life Perishes nothing stays New /
Diamonds polished / cars old / Homes Paint / (NOT THERE)
A)The word does
mean imperishable but it can also mean unravaged by any invading army.
B)Many a time
Palestine had been ravaged by the armies of the aliens; it had been fought over
and blasted and destroyed.
1) But the Christian possesses an Inheritance which no invading army can ravage and destroy.
4th It is
undefilable.
A)The word means to pollute / stained or Cheapened the
Inheritance that we have in Christ cannot be stained or cheapened in any way
5th It is
unfading
A)In Nature flower fades and the loveliest blossom dies.
B) But the Christian is
lifted into a world where there is no change and decay and where his peace and
joy are untouched by the changes of
life.
6th
Reserved in Heaven for You
A)Reservation w/ your name on it ( Book of Life)
B)Airplane seats / London
C) If you have given your life to Jesus Christ
Name is in the Reservation
Book
D) Charles Spurgeon summed up 1 Pet.1:3,4 in this
way :
Never forget the three whats.
What from? Believers are redeemed from
hell and destruction.
What by?
By the precious blood of Christ.
What to? An inheritance incorruptible, undefiled,
& that will not fade away.
A)1st Watchful
Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious
appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14who gave
Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for
Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
A) In Union Grove Wisconsin there is a Home for Mentally Challenged Kids called the Shepherds Home
1)
The
Founder of the home Bud Wood says one of the
major maintenance problems at the home is dirty windows
B)
How
do the Windows get so dirty ? Bud says that you can
walk thru the corridors of that home almost any time of the day & see kids
w/ their hands noses & faces pressed to the windows Looking to see if
Christ might be coming back right then to take them home & make them Whole
C) When is the last
time that we glanced toward the sky to see if this might not be the long
awaited moment when we final see him face to face
1)
How
often do we go thru an entire day sometimes even an entire week
Not even thinking that today
might be the day
C.S. Lewis called the early Church an Army w/ Banners rooted in Eternity ( They were
so affective because realized more than this life)
2nd Sense of Significance Right now we tend to view ourselves in light of Earth side Identities
A)Our Professions Who we are is measured by what
we Do!!
1)
I
am a lawyer / Machinist / a Carpenter/ a House wife
B) Some also get their significance from their
Possessions or what they are
Worth
C) Our nationalities ( Italian / German / Swedish /
)
C) Our Church affiliation ( Catholic or Presbyterian
)
We often ask
these questions who are you / what do
you do? What nationality are You ? Rarely do you hear people respond
A) - I am a Citizen of Heaven follower of Jesus
Christ ( Might be a little too Pretentious but bigger
problem is we rarely think about it
B) But I do believe what Joe S. in ETERNITY - If our Kingdom Identity
doesnt preoccupy our minds it will never define our lives
Too many
people are looking to find their Significance outside of Christ
D)Truly our Sig. As people is found in being linked
to Christ and in what we
Do for
Christ !!!!!
I
remember the first time I went back to Pittsburgh my dads home town when I was
in Jr. High ( My dad quite an Athlete (Pitt/ Baseball)
A)Remember people saying Your are Tonys son You should have seen your old man play
Quite a ball player
B) At that time in my life my whole world revolved
around sports and to be known as Tonys boy made me
Proud
1)
I
was linked to something / Someone Special
C) That is but a glimpse of what it means to be
satisfied w/ the Significance that comes from being the Child of the King
1)
I
am forever linked to Someone, Something & Someplace Special
J.S. When we are consumed w/
the reality of Heaven, Christ is free to Consume us on earth. When we realize
that final gain is there & then, we are free to live for Him here &
now. When we put gain in its place, we begin to enjoy Christ in His rightful
Place the all consuming center of our lives.
When heaven is the transcendent
target of our living then we indeed have the best of both worlds: Christ HERE
and Gain there. We are assured of Christs Presence & Protection here and
ultimately the Guarantee of Paradise there, where He is the substance of our
Eternal Gain.
CS Lewis Aim at heaven
& you will get earth thrown in too, Aim at earth & you will get neither
A)People wearing colors You knew who they were for
B) Airport on a Sat. Chargers play San Francisco
- ( Colors )
C) What are the clothes of the Kingdom : 2 Pet.1:3-5
His Divine Power - Living working - life & godliness
Thru the knowledge of Him - ( My aim Know Him more)
GIVING ALL DILIGENCE effort Priority
1:5 ADD: Lavishly supply The verb ADD has a colorful and fascinating
history.
Stedman insight
A)In Greek drama the plays were put on by the
combined effort of a poet (who wrote the script);
the state (which provided the theater);
and a wealthy
individual
called a choregos, who paid the expenses.
This
called for a generous but sometimes costly effort on his part.
In Peter's view, God has written in the blood of Jesus
the captivating script for a Christian life; the world is the theater wherein
it will be played out;
but the
believer must cooperate by expending his diligent efforts to
make
the script come alive in vivid display.
This
is the Kingdom Attire it is really another Description of the Fruit of the
Spirit !!!
Virtue = moral excellence.
Knowledge- practical wisdom, obtained
by acting on the understanding which truth imparts
Self Control - This means mastering one's
moods & Passions , rather than being controlled by them
Perseverance is the ability to endure
when circumstances are difficult. Self-control has to do with handling the pleasures
of life, while patience relates primarily to the pressures and problems
of life.
Godliness
-
God-likeness. In the original Greek, this word meant to worship well. Living
to do the will of God Living Worship
Brotherly kindness (philadelphia) affection &
Concern for others
Love Agape self Sacrificing love
1:8 BARREN NOR UNFRUITFUL: /
Short sighted