Advent 2022: Hope - 1 Peter 1:3-9

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 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.