WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.919 Today is Easter Sunday, that day when we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:13.439 It's a day where Christians have gathered throughout the world to mark the fact that 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:15.960 Jesus has indeed risen. 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:23.920 That's a core belief of the Christian faith that almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:33.560 was crucified on a Friday and there he died, but on the following Sunday he rose again. 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:37.000 And we believe as Christians that today he is still alive. 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:42.760 He is in heaven with God the Father ruling over the universe and transforming people's 00:00:42.760 --> 00:00:45.520 lives all over the world. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:51.400 And for us as Christians, for every Christian in here, we can say that Jesus has transformed 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:57.359 our lives in an absolutely amazing way. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:04.879 And every Sunday, since that day when Jesus rose, Christians have gathered together to 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:05.879 worship him. 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:11.159 It is a core truth of the Christian faith. 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:19.000 But for many people, and maybe even for you, it can all seem unbelievable. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:22.959 And that's been our theme over the past three weeks. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:29.480 And tonight we are concluding this week's series by asking the question, are you hopeless? 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:32.239 Or maybe we could ask it in a different way. 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:36.519 We could say, well, are you hopeful? 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:42.079 Or we could ask, what are you hoping for? 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:45.680 And when I say that, I don't just mean in terms of what you hope for this week or what 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:51.320 you hope for in terms of your job or what you hope for in terms of relationships in 00:01:51.320 --> 00:01:54.560 your life or in terms of experiences that you get. 00:01:54.560 --> 00:02:02.440 But what about in terms of life and death? 00:02:02.440 --> 00:02:05.880 Do you have hope? 00:02:05.880 --> 00:02:12.080 Have you ever even thought about it? 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:19.200 Not that long ago, Christianity was very believable to the people of Scotland. 00:02:19.200 --> 00:02:22.240 Maybe not to everybody, but certainly to many. 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:26.720 Today it's not like that. 00:02:26.720 --> 00:02:31.520 Christianity is becoming more and more a minority worldview in Scotland. 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:36.080 Scotland is now statistically classified as an unchurched nation. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:42.120 And people actually come to Scotland, are coming to Scotland every year in order to 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:50.000 learn what it's like to live in a post-Christian nation. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:03:00.840 Other worldviews have kind of forced Christianity out of its place in Scotland. 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:06.439 These other worldviews have kind of challenged Christianity and forced it into a corner. 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:12.640 A good example of that is humanism. 00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:19.280 In many ways, humanism and Christianity are kind of put against each other. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:25.080 And looking at it from a distance, you'd probably say, well, it's humanism that's winning. 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.640 Humanist weddings are going up. 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:31.559 Church weddings, maybe not so much. 00:03:31.559 --> 00:03:36.279 In many ways, humanism seems to be new and fresh and appealing. 00:03:36.279 --> 00:03:44.639 Christianity is old and weird in people's eyes. 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:49.359 And looking at this, I don't want to spend too much time on this, and I definitely don't 00:03:49.359 --> 00:03:53.000 want to denigrate humanism. 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:57.919 I do want to ask the question, what's the difference between humanism and Christianity? 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:03.680 As I said, these things are often pitted against each other as though they're completely different. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:04.680 What is the difference? 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:09.599 Well, it's a really interesting question to ask because there's actually a lot of similarities 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:12.199 between these two worldviews. 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:17.639 So humanism has a deep sense of concern for others. 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:19.959 So too does Christianity. 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:25.359 And that's why both of these worldviews will still inspire amazing charity work across 00:04:25.359 --> 00:04:28.279 Scotland. 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:32.799 Humanism is deeply committed to human rights. 00:04:32.799 --> 00:04:36.919 So too is Christianity. 00:04:36.919 --> 00:04:41.959 If you know your history well, then you'll know that it was the Christian church that 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:49.759 transformed the status of women and the status of slaves, both in the ancient world and in 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.639 the modern era. 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:55.279 Here's a really fun fact for you. 00:04:55.279 --> 00:05:03.480 Women in the UK were given the right to vote to choose their MPs in 1918. 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:12.159 So you women, 1918, that's when you got the right to choose who your MP was. 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:19.960 Do you know when women in Scotland were given the right to vote to choose who their minister 00:05:19.960 --> 00:05:22.720 was? 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:29.560 1846, in the Free Church of Scotland. 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:32.600 I bet you weren't expecting that. 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:36.480 We're not as backward as they may think. 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.440 We're hugely committed to rights and to equality. 00:05:40.440 --> 00:05:41.920 Humanism is committed to the arts. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:44.680 Whether it or not, so is Christianity. 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:52.040 So in this past week, the world was horrified to see Notre Dame Cathedral go up in flames. 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:54.600 It's an absolutely iconic work of art. 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:56.160 Who built it? 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:00.720 The humanists or the Christians? 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:09.080 And even here, in a purpose-built free church, free church, the kind of dullest of the dull, 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:12.240 look at this building. 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:17.879 It's a stunning work of art. 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:20.279 Humanism is committed to science and reason. 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:23.120 And despite what people think, so too is Christianity. 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:26.000 As Christians, we marvel at what science discovers. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:28.319 We place a huge emphasis on our minds. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:32.120 If you read through the New Testament, you will discover that again and again and again 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:34.879 you are being told to think. 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:39.879 So between these two worldviews, humanism and Christianity, there's a lot of common ground. 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:49.199 And while I deeply regret the atheism that lies at the heart of the humanists, worldview, 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:53.680 there's still a lot we can agree on. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:58.159 So what's the difference? 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:08.040 The difference is that Christianity will give you hope. 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:16.080 And if you are needing hope, then it's Christianity that you need. 00:07:16.080 --> 00:07:20.520 I want us just to unpack that a wee bit together for a moment, because a lot of people assume 00:07:20.520 --> 00:07:26.320 that hope and reason can't go together. 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:31.159 And so the big problem that people have with Christianity is they say that it's based on 00:07:31.159 --> 00:07:33.279 blind faith. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:35.519 It's just kind of a vague optimism. 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.879 It's irrational belief. 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:41.319 And for many people, it's more like a fairy tale. 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:48.560 And many people will think that that reason and the kind of hope that Christianity talks 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:54.800 about can't really go together. 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:56.759 Is that true? 00:07:56.759 --> 00:08:01.439 Well, I don't think it's true at all. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:08.400 And it is most definitely not true to say that Christianity is based on blind faith. 00:08:08.400 --> 00:08:18.720 The truth is Christianity is grounded, absolutely grounded on clear, logical, coherent reasoning. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:22.759 Mindless Christianity is not Christianity at all. 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:28.039 And at the heart of Christianity, there is a core principle of reasoning. 00:08:28.039 --> 00:08:33.759 It's a very, very simple principle, but it's a principle that lies at the heart of logic. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:41.879 It's the principle of if, then. 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:45.080 That's a basic logical relationship. 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:49.039 And it's actually something that we see all around us. 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:53.799 If something is true, then a certain conclusion can follow. 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:58.399 So you can look at all sorts of real life examples. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:00.639 So if I tap this lectern, it will make a noise. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.319 If I tap it, then it will make a noise. 00:09:03.319 --> 00:09:05.639 There you go. 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:12.319 If I gave all of you five pounds, then you would all be richer. 00:09:12.319 --> 00:09:15.519 If Hibbs won the league, then Derrick would be happy. 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:16.519 No, sorry. 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:18.719 Actually, I said I would give real life examples. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:19.720 Sorry. 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:20.720 Apologies. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:38.680 The key point is that hope, hope is grounded on the principle of if, then. 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:49.759 So if a father can get his wife and children out of Syria, then there's hope that they'll 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:50.759 be safer. 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:55.519 When someone has a cardiac arrest, if you get them a defibrillator, then there is hope 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:58.239 of saving them. 00:09:58.239 --> 00:10:05.439 When you are diagnosed with cancer, if there's the option of surgery or treatment, then there 00:10:05.439 --> 00:10:08.639 is hope of recovery. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:11.039 None of these are blind hopes. 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:14.759 They're completely logical. 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:22.919 If something is true, then we can expect certain things. 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:28.960 And it's important to remember that if the if changes, then the then changes too. 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:31.559 I hope that makes sense. 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:35.600 So for example, once there was no hope for somebody who had a cardiac arrest. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:38.399 If they had a cardiac arrest, they were finished. 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:44.000 But now the if is different because the invention of the defibrillator means that if you use 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:46.840 it, then the then is different. 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:48.559 It's no longer hopeless. 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:51.279 There's a great chance of recovery. 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:56.919 Hope is grounded on the principle of if, then. 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:05.319 And the key point is that Christianity is exactly the same. 00:11:05.319 --> 00:11:08.240 The Bible speaks in these very terms. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:17.519 Jesus, when he was healing people from the power of sin on their lives, when he was helping 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:22.600 those who were demon possessed and whose lives were just chaotic because of the power of 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:28.560 sin, people were accusing him and saying, well, you're just able to cast out these demons 00:11:28.560 --> 00:11:30.759 because you're demonic yourself. 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:38.120 And he said, no, he said, if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:39.720 something amazing has happened. 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:43.120 The kingdom of God has come upon you. 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:45.879 The early Christian leaders spoke in exactly the same way. 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:51.759 Paul said, if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, meaning that you are 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:59.480 part of the promised people that ran right through the historical narrative of the Bible. 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:02.799 John says the same thing in one of his letters. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:09.000 If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.399 and in the Father. 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:20.959 And supremely, this principle of if, then, applies to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:12:20.959 --> 00:12:31.679 If the resurrection is not true, then Christianity is wrong. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:39.519 The Bible itself says that if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:46.519 vain and your faith is in vain. 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:57.240 But if the resurrection is true, then everything changes. 00:12:57.240 --> 00:13:02.639 And even if you've never believed in the resurrection before, please just think about 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:03.919 it for a moment. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:09.879 If that really happened, then that changes the world. 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:13.720 Now, you might say, well, that's a big if. 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:17.279 It seems like an impossible if, but it's not impossible. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:21.840 And a big if is absolutely not an impossible if. 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:27.200 I often think to myself, if you imagine speaking to somebody 500 years ago and said to them, 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:31.680 do you know that in 500 years time, there will be people in the world who can gather 00:13:31.680 --> 00:13:34.720 up a few bits of stuff from the ground. 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:40.600 They'll be able to pick up some metal and some minerals and some liquid out of the ground. 00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:42.440 They'll have to dig it up. 00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:49.200 If they process it a wee bit and if they arrange it together in a certain order, they'll be 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:55.520 able to put it into a wee rectangular shape, small enough to fit in your pocket, and you 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:59.399 will be able to take it out and communicate with anybody in the world instantaneously. 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:03.919 You'd say, that's ridiculous. 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:11.039 And yet there it is. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:15.399 A big if is not an impossible if. 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:17.600 Lots of remarkable ifs have actually happened. 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:23.000 And the most remarkable of all is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:30.320 And that resurrection is a unique, attested historical event. 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:35.720 It's historical in that it took place at a certain moment in history. 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:41.600 It's attested in that people witnessed it and that I witnessed testimony has been preserved. 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:49.799 And it is unique in the sense that it is a one of a once in an eternity event. 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:56.719 And in terms of recording the truth of a unique event 2000 years ago, Christianity actually 00:14:56.719 --> 00:15:01.599 provides all the evidence that you could reasonably expect. 00:15:01.599 --> 00:15:04.279 So was the tomb empty? 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:06.000 Yes it was. 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.079 Did the risen Jesus appear to people? 00:15:08.079 --> 00:15:09.079 Yes he did. 00:15:09.079 --> 00:15:10.639 Were there lots of witnesses? 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:11.799 Yes there were. 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:13.719 Was there testimony preserved? 00:15:13.719 --> 00:15:15.519 Yes it was. 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.199 That's why the real question is not is there evidence? 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:25.600 The real question is are you willing to believe the evidence? 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:29.400 And that's perhaps the greatest challenge of all. 00:15:29.400 --> 00:15:32.840 Thinking to yourself well is it really possible? 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:39.360 Is it really believable that Jesus could rise from the dead? 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:45.320 Well in order for you to believe that evidence, all Christianity is asking you to do is to 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:52.960 take a step back and to have a much bigger perspective on reality. 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:55.080 And this is something that's really important for us to do. 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:59.440 I want you just to take a step back and to think about how you view reality, how you 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:05.000 view the world, the universe, time, life, all of these things. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:06.800 So here you are. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:19.039 This is you, the we stick man, standing in this big thing called reality. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:27.559 And we exist in this big sequence of past, present and future. 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:33.959 Whatever you are, you are part of that process. 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:38.360 And I think there's an origin, whatever that was. 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:42.200 Now there's a reality that you live in whatever that is. 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:51.160 And ahead of you is a destiny, ahead of you is a future. 00:16:51.160 --> 00:17:01.160 And I think that most people in Scotland today, whatever their beliefs will agree that we exist 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:09.920 as those who live in an amazing, dying world. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:14.960 We live in an amazing, dying world. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:18.319 That's why half of it is grey. 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:24.480 It's amazing because all around us there's life and beauty and order and power and splendor. 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:30.599 It's dying because it's all slowly fading away. 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:36.159 So whether it's the billions of stars in the universe or the billions of people on this 00:17:36.159 --> 00:17:44.079 planet, everything's dying. 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:54.959 And most people today I think would recognize that the dyingness is more powerful than the 00:17:54.959 --> 00:17:56.959 amazingness. 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:06.240 Our worlds a dying world and we are a dying people. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:10.120 And many people today will say that's pretty much it. 00:18:10.120 --> 00:18:17.680 And they'll view the world as existing in this self-contained box and within that box 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:21.120 everything is slowly dying. 00:18:21.120 --> 00:18:26.880 And so in terms of our origin, our origin is nothing. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:29.200 The reality is dying. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:37.000 Our destiny is nothing. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:45.120 And looking at that box, you have to ask the question, why is it dying? 00:18:45.120 --> 00:18:48.160 What is death? 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:52.400 And some people might say, well, death is just inevitable. 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:53.880 Others might say it's natural. 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:56.000 Some might even say it's desirable. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:02.279 Death is just an integral part of that box that reality exists in. 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:04.680 That's why everything is dying. 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:09.640 It's just the way it is. 00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:14.480 The Bible says something very, very different about death. 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:23.279 According to the Bible, death is not inevitable or natural or desirable. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:30.160 According to the Bible, death is an enemy. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:36.680 And in order to see that, you need to have a much bigger perspective on reality because 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:42.440 the world is not existing in a self-contained box that comes from nothing. 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:45.279 The world is the creation of God himself. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:50.000 He is the self-sufficient, life-giving absolute of the universe. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:55.240 He is the one who's created a world and a universe that is intended to live. 00:19:55.240 --> 00:20:02.880 It's a living world that he's made from the life-giving God who has life in and of himself. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:10.920 And at the heart of that is humanity created to live for God in a world made to be our 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:13.039 home. 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:19.960 And the reason that reality for us now is that humanity and the world around us is dying. 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:24.079 It's not because God failed in making a living world. 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:31.640 It's because we pushed him away and we have rebelled against what he intended for us. 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:35.920 If you pick up your bulletins, if you've got the notice sheet in front of you, you can 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:41.559 see the question from the New City Catechism that we read out in the morning which speaks 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:42.559 about this. 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:44.759 It's asked the question, what is sin? 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:51.599 Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:57.200 without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires in his law, resulting in 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.200 what? 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:08.079 Our death and the disintegration of all creation. 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:13.680 That's why the world is now dying. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.519 And so the biblical perspective tells you a bigger story. 00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:20.279 It tells you that the origin is living, is that we are meant to be living, but the current 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.200 reality is dying. 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:27.519 But the destiny is restoration. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:34.759 That the God who gave life in the beginning is going to restore life once again. 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:39.600 That according to the Bible is the great destiny of humanity and of the universe, that the 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:44.439 world around us, the created universe and humanity within that will be restored to what 00:21:44.439 --> 00:21:47.759 it's intended to be. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.039 Everything will be put right. 00:21:50.039 --> 00:22:01.319 And everything that is dying, everything that results in death is going to be outside that 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:04.879 new creation. 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:13.760 And in terms of finding hope in face of death, this is where we discover that Christianity's 00:22:13.760 --> 00:22:19.560 objective is way, way bigger than what we hope for ourselves. 00:22:19.560 --> 00:22:26.560 Because our aim in this amazing dying world in which we live is to prevent death, isn't 00:22:26.560 --> 00:22:27.560 it? 00:22:27.560 --> 00:22:29.200 So we try to be healthy. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.880 We pour our resources into medical research. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:38.680 We have an amazing health service that we value so much and that we regard as so important. 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:40.400 We train ourselves in first aid. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:42.800 We do everything that we can. 00:22:42.800 --> 00:22:49.760 We pour huge amounts of effort into trying to prevent death, because life is amazing 00:22:49.760 --> 00:22:54.720 and we don't want to lose it. 00:22:54.720 --> 00:23:02.560 We strive to prevent death. 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:09.319 But Christianity's aim is not to prevent death. 00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:17.720 Christianity's aim is to reverse death. 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:27.559 And that's why at the heart of Christianity is a key moment in space and time when death 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:30.799 was reversed. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:39.159 That moment is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:23:39.159 --> 00:23:48.639 And if that resurrection has happened, then you can have hope. 00:23:48.639 --> 00:23:53.000 And that's exactly what we read about in the passage from the Bible we read in 1 Peter. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:57.759 He says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:05.640 According to His great mercy, He's caused us to be born again to a living hope through 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:10.839 the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:16.759 The resurrection gives us a living hope, a real hope, a hope of life in the midst of 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:18.200 a dying world. 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:27.240 The God who gives life has come to restore life through God the Son Himself, Jesus Christ, 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:29.799 and His death and resurrection. 00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:34.480 And it all makes perfect sense. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:40.839 Because if you think of cancer, for a long time that word seemed like a death sentence 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:43.599 to anyone who got it. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:47.559 A cancer diagnosis means you're finished. 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:53.920 And it seemed like the worst news that anyone could get. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:25:04.000 But the first cancer survivor gives everyone else hope. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:12.320 So if death is like a cancer that has spread to every single human, then if there was a 00:25:12.320 --> 00:25:18.440 death cancer survivor, if there was someone who could beat that disease, who could beat 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:22.360 that enemy, then the rest of us could have hope. 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:24.159 Just imagine if that was true. 00:25:24.159 --> 00:25:29.439 Imagine if there was somebody who actually beat death, who was subjected to all the power 00:25:29.439 --> 00:25:36.719 of that brutal, intrusive, hideous enemy of life, that horrible, inescapable cancer. 00:25:36.719 --> 00:25:40.240 They were exposed to it all, and yet they beat it. 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:41.359 Imagine if that was true. 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:44.079 Someone beat death by rising again. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:51.839 And then it was the case that everybody else had the opportunity to share in that victory, 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:57.359 to share in that recovery, and to have hope that the benefits of that first survivor could 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:02.159 be applied to everybody else who has the same illness. 00:26:02.159 --> 00:26:03.159 Imagine that was true. 00:26:03.159 --> 00:26:10.240 Imagine that there was a death cancer survivor. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:17.959 The resurrection tells you that it is true. 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:23.000 And that's why Christianity is good news. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:28.900 That's why it is such good news, because if the resurrection happened, then we now can 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:31.400 have the most amazing hope. 00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:36.400 We live in an amazing, dying world. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:41.640 Everyone thinks that the dyingness is more powerful than the amazingness Christianity 00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:48.560 says, no, it isn't. 00:26:48.560 --> 00:26:52.600 And it's all grounded on that great principle of if and then. 00:26:52.600 --> 00:26:53.800 It's not blind faith. 00:26:53.800 --> 00:26:55.200 It's not vague optimism. 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:57.200 It's not kind of airy, fairy nonsense. 00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:58.840 It's logic. 00:26:58.840 --> 00:27:10.640 If, then, if Jesus rose from the dead, then everything changes, and you can have hope. 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:14.640 But what does that hope look like? 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:17.200 It's a way of a vague word. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:20.200 What do we mean when we talk about hope? 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:29.560 Well, to see what it looks like, we can go back to 1 Peter and especially to verse 4. 00:27:29.560 --> 00:27:39.120 And I want to look just very, very briefly at four key words that appear in verse 4. 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:45.119 Here describes our hope as an inheritance, being born again to our living hope through 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:49.839 the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance. 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:57.559 Now that's a brilliant word, because it immediately speaks of a family relationship. 00:27:57.559 --> 00:28:02.679 Inheritance is a child receiving something from their father. 00:28:02.679 --> 00:28:08.119 And it's pointing us to that family relationship that is at the core of what the Christian 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:10.439 church is. 00:28:10.439 --> 00:28:18.799 And it's reminding us of the amazingly privileged status that we can now have as Christians. 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:24.239 So if you are a Christian or if you become a Christian, you have this extraordinary 00:28:24.239 --> 00:28:25.959 new status. 00:28:25.959 --> 00:28:30.079 The key point, if you think about inheritance, is that in order to receive it, you need to 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:32.599 be something. 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:37.599 So if you have a disputed inheritance claim, these things are resolved by determining who 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:45.480 the person is, if they really are a child of this person who's left an inheritance. 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:54.839 We are granted this inheritance because of what we now are as Christians. 00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:58.399 And what are we? 00:28:58.399 --> 00:29:02.199 We're children of God. 00:29:02.199 --> 00:29:05.839 That's what you become if you become a Christian. 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:08.839 You become part of God's family. 00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:12.759 That's how Christianity works. 00:29:12.759 --> 00:29:17.959 The Bible calls us to put our faith in Jesus Christ. 00:29:17.959 --> 00:29:22.199 And that faith unites us to Jesus. 00:29:22.199 --> 00:29:25.679 So He becomes our brother. 00:29:25.679 --> 00:29:31.199 And God, the Father who is His Father, becomes our Father. 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:37.759 As believers, we become part of God's family, and all the privileges of being a child of 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:43.319 God now belong to us. 00:29:43.319 --> 00:29:51.559 And that's why if you think about your destiny, if you think about your future, if you become 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:59.559 a Christian or if you are a Christian, then you have a right to take your place in God's 00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:02.159 house. 00:30:02.159 --> 00:30:06.039 That's why when Jesus said when he was returning to heaven after his resurrection, he says, 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:11.480 I'm going to go to prepare a place for all of my people. 00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:19.759 And the reason he did that is because we belong there. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:24.799 It's where we belong. 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:28.679 When you get to heaven, you will not be an outsider. 00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:29.880 You won't be on the fringes. 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:30.880 You won't be out of place. 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:33.279 So often we can feel really out of place at times. 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:37.920 We can feel on the fringes of peer groups or colleagues or whatever. 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:39.240 We feel like we're on the outside. 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:47.519 You'll never, ever feel like that in heaven because it's where you belong. 00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:51.000 When Peter wrote to the Christians at the start of this letter, he described them as 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:54.080 exiles. 00:30:54.080 --> 00:30:57.680 That's because that's what they were. 00:30:57.680 --> 00:31:09.560 But when they died and went to heaven, they stopped being exiles because they were home. 00:31:09.560 --> 00:31:11.480 That word inheritance is amazing. 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:19.720 It's reminding us that that's where we belong as part of God's family. 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:25.279 And then after inheritance, Peter uses three little, well, not little, big words, I suppose, 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:30.759 three adjectives that describe that inheritance in a wee bit more detail. 00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:33.440 First is that it's imperishable. 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:39.039 That word simply means that it's not subject to death or decay. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:46.240 So our inheritance as Christians is utterly immune and exempt from the power of death 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:48.039 and sin. 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:52.279 That's astonishing because, as we were just saying, ever since humanity rebelled against 00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:58.519 God at the beginning, our entire existence has been under the power of death. 00:31:58.519 --> 00:32:02.480 Everything, including us, is dying. 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:09.039 But our inheritance is imperishable. 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:13.960 And the reason it's imperishable is because it's grounded on the resurrection of Jesus 00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:16.599 Christ, which is what Peter just said in verse three. 00:32:16.599 --> 00:32:18.599 It all fits together. 00:32:18.599 --> 00:32:21.359 Jesus has defeated death on the cross. 00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:25.759 Death has no power over him, which is why he was able to rise from the dead. 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:30.919 He has now risen imperishable, and we are united to him. 00:32:30.919 --> 00:32:33.959 We're family members with him. 00:32:33.959 --> 00:32:39.839 His imperishableness is promised to us. 00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:49.119 And that's one of the amazing promises of the gospel. 00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:51.639 Do you think about it? 00:32:51.639 --> 00:32:58.159 Every single human being inherits mortality from their parents. 00:32:58.159 --> 00:32:59.159 It's inescapable. 00:32:59.159 --> 00:33:09.639 And we're helpless in trying to avoid passing on the inevitability of death. 00:33:09.639 --> 00:33:12.639 But God is different. 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:22.040 These children have an imperishable inheritance. 00:33:22.040 --> 00:33:24.680 Second adjective is undefiled. 00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:28.920 That basically means to be spotless, unsoiled, to be pure. 00:33:28.920 --> 00:33:32.160 Our inheritance is free from any defilement. 00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:33.160 There's no damage. 00:33:33.160 --> 00:33:34.160 There's nothing missing. 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:36.600 There's no flaws. 00:33:36.600 --> 00:33:41.120 And that means that your participation in the family of God, if you're a Christian or 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:47.959 if you become one, is going to be flawless. 00:33:47.959 --> 00:33:52.479 And so just think about everything that's wrong with you. 00:33:52.479 --> 00:33:56.359 So maybe you can look at your body and see that you're in physical pain. 00:33:56.359 --> 00:33:58.799 Maybe you're sore. 00:33:58.799 --> 00:34:01.119 Maybe you're ill. 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:04.199 Maybe you're weak. 00:34:04.199 --> 00:34:09.279 Maybe you're old. 00:34:09.280 --> 00:34:19.440 In your future, you will be undefiled by all of these physical flaws. 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:21.800 Maybe you carry emotional scars. 00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:24.320 You think of every worry. 00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:27.320 Think of every awful thought that plagues you in the night. 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:29.280 You think of everything that grieves your heart. 00:34:29.280 --> 00:34:31.640 You think of everything that you regret. 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:40.759 Your future inheritance is going to leave you undefiled by these things. 00:34:40.759 --> 00:34:44.199 You'll be restored. 00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:48.679 And you think of all that's wrong with the world, all the moral corruption, all the violence, 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:50.519 all the horribleness that's in the world. 00:34:50.519 --> 00:35:00.440 There will not be one ounce of that in your eternal future. 00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:13.000 And we were given a hint about all of this in the miracles of Jesus. 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:16.000 Because when Jesus came, he healed the blind. 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:17.720 He restored the lame. 00:35:17.720 --> 00:35:19.559 He comforted the traumatized. 00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:21.240 He healed the broken. 00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:30.559 And all of these things were to be a foretaste of the new world, of the restored world, where 00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:35.399 all of these things will have passed away. 00:35:35.399 --> 00:35:39.519 And that means that if you're struggling physically or emotionally, you can remind yourselves that 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:43.559 you have an undefiled inheritance if you put your trust in Jesus. 00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:51.239 So never, ever, ever again will you have to experience any of the horrible consequence 00:35:51.239 --> 00:35:55.759 of humanity's sin. 00:35:55.759 --> 00:36:02.639 And then third, adjective, unfading, basically means unending, permanent. 00:36:02.639 --> 00:36:05.799 It's actually a very rare word. 00:36:05.799 --> 00:36:11.840 It's actually used in Greek to describe a flower that's in perpetual bloom. 00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:21.360 And that a flower, a beautiful flower that's just in bloom permanently. 00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:26.760 And so not only are we being told that your inheritance, that your future in Jesus is 00:36:26.760 --> 00:36:36.200 going to be amazing, you're being told that it will go on and on and on. 00:36:36.200 --> 00:36:40.480 It will always, always be that way. 00:36:40.480 --> 00:36:43.360 Your inheritance will never lose any of its wonderfulness. 00:36:43.360 --> 00:36:47.280 One dictionary describes that word as meaning eternally fresh. 00:36:47.280 --> 00:36:49.760 Isn't that a brilliant description? 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:52.920 Eternally fresh. 00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:57.079 And that's why the promises of the gospel are at a level of your own, because even the 00:36:57.079 --> 00:37:02.400 very best things in this life will fade away. 00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:04.159 Think of everything that's brilliant. 00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:05.480 This last week has been brilliant. 00:37:05.480 --> 00:37:06.719 The weather's been brilliant. 00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:09.440 It's been so, so nice. 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:18.480 And it's been amazing to enjoy just the warmth and beauty of Scotland. 00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:23.720 It's fading away. 00:37:23.720 --> 00:37:26.920 And that brilliant week of weather is one less brilliant week of weather that you and 00:37:26.920 --> 00:37:31.400 I will experience in our lives. 00:37:31.400 --> 00:37:38.039 Even the best of this life is fading away, but our inheritance in Jesus is unfading. 00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:45.440 These three adjectives are amazing, imperishable, undefiled, unfading, but I think the most 00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:52.159 astounding thing of all is what it says at the very end. 00:37:52.159 --> 00:38:03.079 This inheritance is being kept in heaven for you. 00:38:03.079 --> 00:38:05.719 Do you see what that's teaching you? 00:38:05.719 --> 00:38:13.519 It's teaching you that this is what God wants to give you. 00:38:13.519 --> 00:38:23.359 And that should make all of us fall on our knees and worship the God whose love is utterly 00:38:23.359 --> 00:38:26.759 unsearchable. 00:38:26.759 --> 00:38:33.039 If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, if you're a Christian, God is saying, all of this will 00:38:33.039 --> 00:38:38.400 be yours. 00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:52.239 If you're not yet a believer in Jesus, God is saying, all this can be yours. 00:38:52.239 --> 00:39:03.479 And all he asks you to do is put your trust in him and follow him. 00:39:03.479 --> 00:39:14.559 And by rejecting Jesus, you are disinheriting yourself from all of this. 00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:29.559 God is offering us this amazing hope and he's saying, it can all be yours. 00:39:29.559 --> 00:39:31.279 So is it all unbelievable? 00:39:31.279 --> 00:39:35.199 I don't think so. 00:39:35.199 --> 00:39:40.960 I think it's absolutely amazing. 00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:45.559 Some people think that Christians are crazy. 00:39:45.559 --> 00:39:50.599 And if the resurrection isn't true, then maybe we are. 00:39:50.599 --> 00:39:56.840 But if the resurrection is true, if this promised future can be ours, if death really can be 00:39:56.840 --> 00:40:05.760 reversed, if we really can have eternal life, if God is offering that to you and you say, 00:40:05.760 --> 00:40:13.400 it's not the Christians who are crazy. 00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:18.000 Let's pray together. 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:26.280 Dear God, our Father, we thank you for all that you have done through our Savior Jesus 00:40:26.280 --> 00:40:27.280 Christ. 00:40:27.280 --> 00:40:31.840 We thank you for his resurrection and for the hope that that gives us. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:42.440 And please, dear God, we pray that Scotland would find that hope and turn back to you. 00:40:42.440 --> 00:41:02.400 Amen.