Good morning. It is great to be with you brothers and sisters and to be able to preach God's word.
Our main text today will be 1st Peter 3 verses 1st Peter 1 verses 3 through 9.
But before we go to 1st Peter 1, we're going to be in Philippians 1.
So if you will take your Bible and turn to Philippians 1 with me.
During this time, we're going to consider the nature of hope through various scriptures,
and then we'll spend the majority of our time in 1st Peter 1.
Great. So today I have the privilege to talk on the Advent theme of hope.
The letter of 1st Peter is considered a letter of hope to a suffering people.
In this letter, Peter has been called the apostle of hope.
In chapter 1, hope is mentioned multiple times.
And in 1st Peter 1, he's writing to the elect exiles who are part of the dispersion.
So these are people who were living in their home and then has been dispersed.
They have been sent to a different area, removed from their home, and forced to live somewhere else.
These believers were called exiles because of that reason.
So that's why Peter introduces the letter like that.
They are living as sojourners in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
The believers of 1st Peter are acquainted with suffering and have experienced the effects of sin against them.
Peter seeks to encourage them that their hope and their value and their satisfaction are not in this world,
but it is in a person, and his name is Jesus Christ.
So as they have been displaced and as they are suffering, Peter is writing this letter to them to let them know that where they're at,
all their hope is not in their home.
It is not in their comfortable place.
It's not in wishful thinking, but it is in Jesus in the life to come.
So with that said, like the elect exiles of 1st Peter, we are in a world where we are weary pilgrims.
We are people who have experienced the ups and downs of life.
We understand that suffering is a reality and that life can be very hard.
We go through seasons of difficulty.
Some seasons where our children are not easy to parent.
Some seasons where our marriage is really hard.
In some seasons where we lose someone that we dearly care about.
We experience life where sometimes tragic events happen.
Things that should have never happened, happen to us.
And in these moments, we experience, it sometimes leads us to despair.
Sometimes leads us to feeling hopeless.
Brothers and sisters, have you been there?
Have you experienced the griefs of this world?
Have you experienced the dark nights of the soul?
Are you familiar with despair?
I've been there myself.
I've been up through all hours of the night worrying about immediate family.
Hoping that they're okay.
I have cried till there's no strength left.
Casting all my anxieties, all my sorrows, all my griefs to the Lord who cares for me.
To our Father.
I've stayed up next to a loved one as I've watched them pass away.
In these moments of great sorrow, in these moments of great despair, we often feel helpless.
And we often feel hopeless.
In these moments, we feel as if we're in a cold, dark dungeon and we can't get out.
We feel as if we are in a deep and narrow pit, languishing.
It is as if we are spiritually cold and numb and in despair.
But in these darkest moments and in these greatest despair, there is hope.
This hope is not wishful desires.
This hope is not lasting relief from our sorrows.
This hope is not in a quick fix solution.
This hope is in the person of Jesus Christ.
In his life, in his death, and in his resurrection.
He is the bright and burning sun.
He is the radiance of God's glory.
In him, our sins are buried and our glory is found.
He is the hope of glory.
And by the spirit of living God, he has instilled hope in our hearts.
Scripture communicates this to us.
Psalm 40, 1-3
I have waited patiently for the Lord.
He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
Colossians 1, 13-14
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
And in Psalm 42, 1-5
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for you, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long,
Where is your God?
These things I remember as I pour out my soul.
How I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God.
With glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
And why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him.
My salvation and my God.
With that said, truly, there is hope in God for our weary hearts.
But what does it mean to hope?
What is this concept we talk about as hope?
We know it's not wishful.
We know it is not just feelings, but it is much more.
Hope is the inspiring confidence and expectation in the Son of God and the glorious inheritance we receive in him.
It is not wishful.
It is not just a movement of feelings and desires.
It is full of faith.
It is full-hearted reliance on Jesus and all that he has promised to us.
It is a grasping and taking hold of Christ and all of his wonderful benefits that we receive in him and in the heavenly places.
Hope is confidence in our promised future, but it also provides us with great confidence.
Paul had this attitude in Philippians 1, 19-21, if you'll read with me.
Philippians 1, 19.
For I expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have in the past.
And I trust that my life will bring honor or magnify Christ, whether I live or die.
For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
This hope inspires us to rejoice.
It inspires us to love.
It inspires us to live in such a way that every thought, every emotion, and every action would make Christ look lovely,
make him look beautiful, make him look glorious.
It is because of our expectant confidence in Jesus Christ that our living is for Christ,
and our dying is gain.
And not just gain, but our dying is great gain.
Paul says it is far better than living.
Our death and fulfillment of our hope is much more greater,
and it is much more wonderful and much more glorious than anything we have in this world.
Paul comes to this conclusion also in Philippians 3.
If you'll turn over a page with me and read.
Beginning in verse 7, he says,
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish,
in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,
but that which comes through faith in Christ.
The righteousness of God that depends on faith.
That I may know him and the power of his resurrection,
and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, our hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ
and the glorious inheritance we receive there.
So turn with me to 1 Peter.
1 Peter.
We'll be reading verse 3 through 9.
Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you,
who by God's power are being guarded through faith,
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while,
if necessary, you've been grieved by various trials,
so that the tested genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire,
may be found to result in the praise and glory and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him now, you love him.
And though you do not see him,
you believe in him,
and rejoice with the joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
obtaining the outcome of your faith,
the salvation of your souls.
So in 1 Peter 1, beginning of verse 3,
there is one Greek sentence all the way to verse 12.
And in this Greek sentence,
the purpose is that we would understand that salvation is from God
and should instill hope in us.
We were once dead and we've been born again to a living hope.
This hope that we're born again to cannot be destroyed.
It will not falter during trials and it is not cold.
And it is in this, when we get to verse 13 of 1 Peter,
after this one sentence that we read,
therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded,
set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
So after this beautiful exposition of our salvation
and how the prophets and the angels long to see Jesus
and see all the promises that were fulfilled in him,
then Peter says,
now, in light of this, prepare for action
and set your hope fully on this grace you will receive at Jesus Christ.
And this should move us to think that hope is so important
because Peter urges the saints to live in such a way
that their hope is set on Jesus and his grace in the future,
not in this moment,
not in the things we have or the things we do.
So today, as we spend our time together,
my aim is that you'd see that hope
is an inspiring confidence and expectation
in the Son of God
and the glorious inheritance we share with him.
We'll see this in three points.
Our hope is living,
our hope is secure,
and our hope is full of joy.
So let's read verses 3 and 4 again.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
to an inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for us.
Prior to being a Christian,
we were enemies of God,
according to Romans 5.10.
We were dead in our sins and trespasses,
according to Ephesians 2.1.
We love the world,
according to 1 John 2,
and we practice lawlessness,
according to 1 John 3.
The 1689 London Baptist Confession says
that we are before Christ,
utterly indisposed,
disabled,
and made opposite to all good,
and wholly inclined to evil.
With that said,
apart from Jesus Christ,
we are hopeless.
But in this passage,
it says that according to his great mercy,
he has worked in our lives.
He took our dead,
lifeless soul,
and gave us new life.
The verse says,
he has caused us to be born again.
We were hopeless,
but now we're born into a new life
with a new hope.
This hope is a living hope.
Before Christ,
the things that we hoped in
were vain,
they were dead,
and they were perishing.
This hope was temporary.
But our hope now in Christ,
being born again,
is not dead,
temporary,
and vain,
but it is steadfast,
it is immovable,
and it is sure.
It is strong,
and it is because
Jesus Christ is alive,
and he's raised from the dead,
that we have hope.
The foundation of the hope we have,
according to 1 Peter 1,
is that he has rose from the dead,
and he is now with God.
We see in verse 3,
he said that we've been born again
to a living hope
through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Our hope is grounded and found
in Jesus Christ
and his resurrection.
We see this also in 1 Corinthians,
when Paul was talking about
the resurrection.
He says in 1 Corinthians 15,
17 through 19,
if Christ has not been raised,
your faith is futile,
and you are still in your sins,
then those also who have fallen asleep
in Christ have perished.
And if in Christ
we have hope in this life only,
we are of all people
most to be pitied.
According to Paul,
if our hope is only in this life,
we are most to be pitied,
because it means there's nothing
after this life that comes.
There is no future
to look forward to.
But the beautiful thing
about the gospel of Jesus Christ
is that when he lived
and he died for our sins,
he also rose.
And we are a part of that,
rising again.
According to Ephesians 2,
we will rise with him.
So, with that said,
if Jesus Christ did not come
and he did not die
and he did not rise again,
we would be left hopeless.
We would have been left in our sins
and we would have been condemned
as guilty.
But, our God did come.
He did die
and he did rise again.
Therefore, our hope is alive.
It is living.
According to verse 4,
this hope that we have
is inheritance also.
It's in Jesus
and we receive an inheritance
with him.
It says in verse 4
that this inheritance
is imperishable,
it's undefiled,
and it is unfading.
Therefore,
this inheritance we receive
in Jesus,
this life to come
that we will receive,
is everlasting.
It is pure
and it is precious.
It will not be destroyed,
it cannot be defiled,
and it will not fade.
According to verse 4,
it states that this inheritance
is of heavenly substance.
It says that it is kept
in heaven for us.
Therefore,
our hope should stir us
to desire
to live a heavenly-minded lifestyle,
a mind that is based
in life to come.
We are sojourners
bound for the promised land.
We have a glorious
and precious estate
that is awaiting us,
that is prepared
by our Father for us.
When we are received
and we receive Jesus
and all of his benefits for us,
we will receive our hope.
When our hope is fulfilled
and our Savior comes,
all our tears
will be wiped away,
all our grieves
will be relieved,
and our aching sadness
will be changed
into an ever-springing gladness.
All the dark shadows
and the gloomy clouds
of this life
will be gone
forevermore
in Christ
and the life to come.
This is the hope
we are made alive to.
This is the hope
that is living.
This is the hope
we receive in Jesus.
And this is the hope
we have to live for.
This hope is also secure.
Point number two,
our hope is secure.
Read verse 5 with me.
Who by God's power
are being guarded
through faith
for a salvation
ready to be revealed.
In verse 4,
we are promised as saints
that our inheritance
is through Jesus
and it is of heavenly substance
that will not be destroyed.
It will not fade away.
In verse 5,
Peter goes on
to encourage us
as weary pilgrims
that this inheritance
will last forever
and is secure.
And it is because of God
that it is secure.
But there are various viewpoints
in our culture
we hear about
that teach
in a different man.
They teach something
that is contrary
to being able
to be secure.
There are viewpoints
that teach
that we can lose
our salvation,
that we are not secure
in Christ.
In Roman Catholicism,
believers receive
this infusion of grace
and then are called
to do sacramental acts
to achieve God's favor,
to remain in this grace.
In Arminianism,
it is said that we are
saved upon a profession
of faith,
but we can fall away
and be an unbeliever
if we fall into sin
too long.
In both these views,
there is no full assurance
that we are saved.
In this view,
our salvation is conditioned
on one's action
and it does not provide us
great rest.
But, brothers and sisters,
the good news here
is, according to 1 Peter,
our hope is not conditioned
on our actions.
There is nothing within us
that earns this hope.
Our hope is in Jesus Christ
and our hope resides with him.
In Christ, there is rest
and our hope is sure.
Read verse 5 again with me.
Who by God's power
are being guarded through faith
for a salvation
ready to be revealed.
Our salvation is based
on God's power.
The word guard here
refers to God
keeping watch
over our salvation.
From our perspective,
we wake up
and we read
and we pray
and we are working,
we believe,
we rejoice,
we rest.
But in reality,
all these good things
come from God
and his almighty power.
By the spirit
of the living God,
we are enabled
and empowered
to pursue holiness
and God is watching
over us
and sharing his goodness
with us.
He is truly the found
from whom all good comes
and he holds us
by his power.
He guards us.
Philippians 1.6 says
that he who began
a good work in us
will bring it
to the day of completion.
When I think of this hope
that is living,
when I think of this hope
that is secure,
it makes me think of
this wonderful hymn
that we sing often
called,
He Will Hold Me Fast.
The words of the song say,
When I fear my faith will fail,
Christ will hold me fast.
When the tempter would prevail,
He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold
through life's fearful path.
For my love is often cold.
He will hold me fast.
He'll hold me fast.
For my Savior loves me so.
He will hold me fast.
So truly,
God is keeping watch
over our soul
and He will hold us fast.
By God's power
and His tender care,
our hope is secure.
Because our hope
is living and secure,
it is also full of joy.
Point number three,
our hope is full of joy.
Read verses six through nine with me.
In this you rejoice,
though now for a little while,
if necessary,
you've been grieved
by various trials,
so that the testing
genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold
that perishes,
though is tested by fire,
may be found to result
in the praise and glory
and honor
at the revelation
of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen Him,
you love Him.
And though you do not see Him,
you believe in Him
and rejoice with joy
that is inexpressible
and filled with glory,
obtaining the outcome
of your faith,
the salvation of your soul.
So in verse six,
Peter goes from explaining
the grounds and security
of our hope
to providing us
with how it relates
to our trials
and the fulfillment
of our hope.
Because our hope
is in Jesus Christ
and because our hope
is secure,
we have grounds
to rejoice.
So the exilic saints
in first Peter,
they endured great persecution
as we talked about.
They were dispersed
from their home.
In the letter,
it says they had been reviled.
They had been treated unjustly
and they had been dealt evil
for their faith
in Jesus Christ.
These trials have led
the saints to be grieved.
According to this word,
the meaning of it
is that there is a severe
mental and emotional distress
or a persisting sadness.
Their experiences
in the dispersion
have brought them
to anguish
and to grief.
But according to Peter,
this is only for a season.
He says that
though now
for a little while,
it is for a season
that they have been grieved.
And in this season,
according to first Peter,
that they're being refined
and their lives
being more and more
like Christ.
He says that
the tested genuineness
of their faith,
more precious than gold
that perishes
those tested by fire,
may be found
to result in praise
and glory
at the revelation
of Jesus Christ.
this word tested genuineness
talks about the authenticity
that their faith is genuine.
So as these trials come
and as these hard things
come in the lives
of the saints
in first Peter,
these hard things
are pushing them
to Christ
and push that faith
in Jesus
and have hope
in Jesus.
And in doing so,
their faith
is being beautified
and fortified.
It is being crafted
through these trials
so that when Jesus appears
and when their hope
is fulfilled,
that their lives
may be found
to the praise
and glory
of Jesus Christ.
So with that said,
we also,
in our lives,
have been grieved.
We go through things
that are hard,
things that bring us
mental distress
and anguish.
Some of us have families
that are really difficult.
Some of us
have went through situations
that are really challenging.
But in these situations,
there is a hope
that is so beautiful
and so wonderful,
something that we can
cast our lives to
and be found in.
And this hope
is in Jesus Christ
in the life to come,
that when he comes,
our hope,
our faith,
everything we believe in
will come
and be fulfilled.
So with that said,
in these trials,
we have great reason
to rejoice.
This joy,
according to Peter,
is inexpressible
and filled
with glory.
the word inexpressible
means exactly
what it sounds like,
that we cannot
describe it,
that we cannot express
how wonderful
this hope is.
Jonathan Edwards,
in trying to describe it,
says,
the love and joy
of the saints on earth
is the beginning
and dawning
of light,
life,
and blessedness
of heaven.
And it's like their love
and joy there,
or rather,
of the same nature,
but not the same degree
and circumstance.
So this inexpressible
joy that we have now
because our hope
in Jesus Christ
and the life to come
is an abounding sweetness
for our soul.
It is an enraptured heart
to the heavenly goodness.
It is an affectionate delight.
It is warm.
It is resounding
with praise
for our treasured Jesus.
It is the kind of joy
that we have
when we consider
everything is rubbish
in compared to knowing
Jesus Christ.
So even in our
greatest affliction,
in our hardest trials,
we can rejoice
because our hope
is not based in this world.
There is a much
greater reality to come,
one that is everlasting
and will not perish,
one that is sure
and secure.
Edwards further describes
what our hope
would be like in heaven.
He says,
the love and joy
that the saints have there
in heaven
is exceedingly,
exceedingly great
and vigorous,
impressing the heart
with the strongest
and most lively sensation
of inexpressible sweetness.
So he says that this,
this love and joy we have
is exceedingly great
and vigorous,
impressing the heart
with the strongest
and most lively sensation
of inexpressible sweetness,
mightily moving,
animating,
and engaging them,
making them
like a flame of fire.
So when,
when things get hard
and they're not going
as we once thought they would,
once we,
the way that we wish
they would have went
and we are struggling,
remember that we have a hope
and that God
is refining our hearts
towards him
and he is fortifying faith
in us.
He is producing a glory,
a masterpiece
to bring him
great delight
and praise.
That is why he says
in this passage,
one that will be found
to result in praise
and glory and honor
at the revelation
of Jesus Christ.
Therefore,
let us rejoice
in our suffering
because it is not
eternal but temporary.
Let us rejoice
in our suffering
because it is not
meaningless
but is meaningful.
Let us rejoice
in our suffering
because we have hope.
Our hope is caused,
our hope causes us
great joy
because it is not momentary
but steadfast,
immovable,
and guaranteed.
In conclusion,
praise God
that he has caused us
to be born again
to a living hope
that is not based
in this world
but based on the person
of Jesus Christ
in his resurrection.
This hope is alive
because Jesus is alive.
This hope will not fade
or perish
but is steadfast
and precious.
It is being kept
by the almighty power
of God
to be given us
when the day
of Jesus Christ appears.
Because this hope
is living and secure,
it should cause us
to spring forth
in great love
and inexpressible joy
in Jesus Christ.
Because of this hope,
we get to experience
the abounding sweetness
and lively sensation
of happiness
in Jesus.
This hope
is an inspiring confidence
and expectation
in Jesus Christ
and his glorious inheritance
we have.
Let us not despair
or be in anguish
but be like
the psalmist
in Psalm 42
in hope in God
for we shall again
praise him,
my salvation
and my God.
So,
four points to consider
in closing application.
Number one,
as we go into Advent season,
let us devote time
individually
with our families
and with our church community
to read scripture
that are based
on the prophecies
fulfilled
in Jesus' first coming
and to read
about the Christmas narratives.
Let us behold
Christ the newborn king
in his fullness of glory
and adore him.
Number two,
I want to remind you
of verse 13.
It says,
therefore,
preparing your minds
for action
and being sober-minded,
set your hope fully
on the grace
that will be brought to you
at the revelation
of Jesus Christ.
Let us work
to set our hope
on the grace
of Jesus Christ.
Let us intentionally
consider the hope
we have in Christ
and rejoice in it.
Our affection
should be warmed
by the flames
of God's word
and his promises
to us.
Let us sit
by the fire
of his word
and be inflamed
for him.
Point number three,
our journey
as pilgrims
to the promised land
is not an individual effort,
but it is a community work.
In 1 Peter,
it is not the saint
that is addressed,
but the saints.
Therefore,
we should be walking
this pilgrimage,
this journey
to the promised land
together
with our brothers
and sisters
that we're committed
to in church
and that we're friends with.
So I encourage you,
find people to walk with,
people that will
hold you accountable,
and find people
that will invest in you,
that will disciple you,
that will help you
build more and more
and more mature
so that you can do
the work of ministry
better.
And finally,
point number four,
in Jesus Christ,
there is hope
for this life
and the life to come.
We should grow
in loving him,
believing in him,
and enjoying him.
This week,
take time to bolster
your love for him,
increase your faith
in him,
and enjoy
his inexpressible sweetness.
Let us begin
to experience
the light,
life,
and blessedness
of heaven now
as we prepare
to receive
the gain of it
in the life to come.
Pray with me.