Hope for the Journey

You found your place there in 1 Peter chapter number 1.

The Bible says this,

And that's kind of the title of our series,

A Living Hope.

That Peter's reminding them their hope is not buried somewhere,

it's not in circumstances, it's not in all these things.

There is a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away,

reserved in heaven for you.

Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,

ready to be revealed in the last time.

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season,

if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than that of gold that perisheth,

though it be tried with fire,

might be found in the praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Whom having not seen ye love,

and whom though now ye see him not yet believing,

ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Receive the end of your faith,

receiving the end of your faith,

even the salvation of your souls.

So we kind of start off this series,

and look at just these verses right here.

We get the idea that Peter is reminding them,

and we'll dig into a little bit more of it,

but yes, they were going through a lot of things,

and there was a lot of difficulty in their life,

but he's reminding of how blessed they truly are.

And I know we throw that word around,

and it became kind of a hashtag for a while.

Everybody's hashtag blessed,

and you put it on every post, you know,

whether it's talking about your lunch,

or your family, or whatever it is,

or you're blessed with everything.

And we sing that old hymn,

count your blessings, name them one by one.

And I know sometimes we sing that song,

oh, I know this,

but when we really start thinking about it,

and I think that's a great thing

when I thoroughly enjoy our pie and praise service,

because it gives us an opportunity to step back

and to look at our life,

kind of reflect over the past year

as we did this Thanksgiving,

and just remember how blessed we are.

And it was a longer service,

but it was still short,

because we didn't even touch the hem of the garment

of how blessed we are.

And then when you think about your life,

and you think about all the things

that you have in Christ,

my prayer is tonight

that everybody knows Jesus as your personal Savior,

but just think about salvation.

Think about how much it changed your life.

It's not just a home in heaven one day.

No, it affects the here and the now.

It affects the joy and the peace

that we have because it's real.

We look around,

and I'm thankful for a church family.

I'm thankful for my own family,

and how God has blessed us.

I'm thankful for health,

and maybe your health is not exactly

where you want it to be,

but you're here tonight.

Right?

And you're breathing,

and God's giving you another day to serve Him,

and the sun is shining,

and we're thankful for that.

I'm thankful for this church.

I'm thankful for the blessings

that God has given Central Baptist Church

over the years.

I'm thankful for what He's doing right now,

and I'm just as excited and thankful

for what He's going to do in the future.

We have a place that we can come,

and in the middle of a busy week,

and at the start of a new week,

we can gather with those that we love,

and we can lift our voices together,

and we have freedom to worship.

There's many of our missionaries

we read on Wednesday nights

in our prayer letters

that don't have the same freedoms

that we have.

The countries they're serving in

are coming up with stricter

and stricter conversion laws.

They can't even speak their faith

to their friends,

and to their coworkers,

and to their neighbors,

and yet we have that opportunity

to do it every day.

We have that opportunity

to come in here, really,

and not worry about anything.

When you come here,

you expect the doors to be open.

Some places,

they have to figure out

where the church is meeting that day

because it's always on the run.

It's underground.

It's in secret.

I'm thankful for the Word of God

that we have in our hands,

and not only do we have it in our hands,

you probably have it in your pocket.

You have it on your computer.

You have it on your email.

I mean, everywhere we go,

we're saturated with the Word of God,

and sometimes we allow that

to kind of just,

eh, well, that's just normal.

No, it's a blessing from God

that we have those things,

and I love that song we sing,

that doxology,

praise God from whom

all blessings flow,

and as we kind of open up

this letter that's Peter's writing,

he's reminding his hearers,

he's reminding the readers

what a blessing it is

to be a Christian,

and for us today,

we think, yeah, that's true,

but when we really dive into

the difficulty it was

in the first century

to be a Christian,

that's really saying something,

because in this time period

to identify with Christ,

to publicly profess Him,

to live a life obedient

to His Word

would have put a target

on your back.

It would have brought

persecution to that,

and Peter's saying,

listen, I know it's hard,

but God is good,

and that's really the idea

behind this letter,

and he wanted them

to understand,

and through the Holy Spirit,

it reminds us today

that if we know Christ

as our Savior,

because we have

a relationship with Him,

there's a word

that is no longer

to be used in our vocabulary,

hopeless.

That doesn't find place

in our life

that as a born-again believer,

we don't know

what true hopelessness is anymore,

because Jesus is our hope.

Jesus is alive,

that our hope isn't based

on some wishy-washy thing,

no, that it's settled,

and it's firm,

and we can anchor our soul

to it.

The Apostle Paul spoke

of this idea

throughout his letters as well.

If you remember there

in Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

verse number 12,

he reminded us

that before salvation,

we were without God,

and we were without hope

in this world.

I think we look

at the world around us,

at least I do,

and I think to myself,

how do they continue

to move forward?

Because it doesn't mean

that as Christians,

we don't walk through

difficult times,

but I cannot imagine

walking through some things

that I've walked through

and walking alongside

of others that are walking

through difficult times

and doing that without God.

I can't fathom

how they do that,

and really,

I don't think they do it

very well.

And maybe you can go back

in your life

before you knew Christ

and your life was pointless,

and there was no hope,

but hope has a name,

and that's what Peter's

going to remind us

over and over and over again.

Paul also told us

that unbelievers,

they grieve as those

who have no hope.

He was writing there

in 1 Thessalonians 4,

and reminding,

because there was this teaching

going around

that their loved ones

had passed on,

that they missed it,

and they're not going to go

and see Christ,

that they're dead,

and he reminds them,

hey, that's not how this works,

that those that are dead in Christ,

they're going to rise first,

and we'll meet them in the air,

and so shall we ever

be with the Lord.

And Paul told them,

we don't grieve

as those that have no hope.

Part of my job,

so to speak,

is I officiate

quite a few funerals,

but there is

a noticeable difference

when we gather around

a loved one

that knows Christ,

and at a funeral

where there is

no knowledge of Christ,

the despair that is there,

it's palpable,

you can feel it in the air,

but we've laid here,

and some dear saints

of this church,

some dear family members

of yours,

we have cried,

but we haven't cried

as those with no hope.

Really, our grief

is for ourselves.

We're happy

that they're finally

walking the streets of gold,

and they're seeing

their Savior face to face.

Our grief is

because we miss them,

but we know this,

there is coming a day

when we shall see him,

but we shall see those

that have gone on

before us.

So hopelessness

is something

that is no longer

in the life of a believer.

I mean,

just the word hopeless

is an awful word.

When you really think about it,

people can endure

incredible hardship

if there's hope.

You can look

throughout history,

and we see even

Christians as they,

or Peter's writing to,

and you go to the dark ages,

and you go through

different times

where they're literally

being hunted

and slaughtered.

How do they continue

to move forward?

Hope.

That Christ is still for them,

that he still loves them,

but when hope is removed

from any situation,

despair takes its place.

And that's why Peter

wrote this letter.

Many of the letters

in the New Testament,

Paul and John

and others would write,

and they were kind of

having to combat

some bad theology

that had crept in the church.

Some false teachers

that had come in,

and yes,

Peter deals with some of that.

We'll see as we walk through,

but really,

this letter was written

to give hope.

Peter wrote this

in around A.D. 67.

Most Bible scholars

would say

that he probably

wrote this from Rome

to the believers

that were scattered

really across Asia Minor.

So we see there

in the first verse

that to the strangers

scattered throughout

these areas.

these Christians

were under pressure

just in their daily life.

They were misunderstood

by many people

because we have to understand

that Christianity

at this time

is still relatively new.

They don't really understand

who are these people?

What is this about?

It wasn't like

they could get on Wikipedia

and see what's Christianity about.

They didn't have that ability

like we do

to kind of Google things

and to figure it out.

They were,

there was kind of

all this hearsay

and misunderstanding.

And inevitably

it just led

to some heavy persecution.

But instead of praying

that the persecution

would leave them,

we see there

in verse number two

at the end of the verse

that here's what Peter

wanted them to understand.

He was praying

that grace unto you

and peace

be multiplied.

Not that trouble

would disappear.

I think so often

when we find hard times

in our life,

we find difficulties,

when we seem like

a situation's hopeless,

we say,

Lord, get rid of this

so I can move forward.

But sometimes

it's in these difficult times

that God really refines us.

They were tried by fire,

so to speak,

and God brings us forth

as gold

as the Bible tells us

in the book of Job.

Because when you study

Christianity,

especially in the first century

and around the times

of these writings,

they are trying

to stamp it out.

They are trying

to rid the Roman Empire

of Christianity in general

and yet

it continues

to move forward.

It continues to go.

You study the book of Acts

and you see the gospel

spreading like a flame

and Peter's reminding him

it's not time to give up.

No, we have something

worth fighting for.

We have somebody

who's fighting for us

and yes,

it might seem at times

that we're not winning,

but let me remind you

we have an inheritance

that's incorruptible

and undefiled

and fadeth not away

and is reserved in heaven.

You know what Peter's saying?

This world is not our home.

We're just a passing through.

He's writing to strangers.

He's writing to pilgrims

because as a Christian

we do look different

and we should.

In fact,

he's going to tell us

that we're a royal priesthood.

We're a peculiar people.

Now, listen,

that doesn't mean

to be weird on purpose.

Some of y'all got that nailed down,

but listen,

we should live differently.

And Peter's reminding them,

he's saying,

listen,

don't be a chameleon

into society

that you should stick out,

that you should live different.

Why?

Because we are different.

That's what holy means.

You know what holy really means?

Here's the definition.

Other.

Different.

Set apart.

We're going to get to the text

in Peter where he tells us,

be ye holy

for I am holy,

saith the Lord.

So that's really the idea

behind this.

That in the following weeks,

we're going to walk

verse by verse

through 1 Peter.

But before we do that,

I really just kind of want

to give us an overview

of what he's talking about

in these themes

and what the hope Peter

is mentioning,

what it is.

And why it's so desperately needed.

So if hope is that essential

to our lives as believers,

I think the first question

we answer is this.

What is biblical hope?

What does biblical hope look like?

You know, we say things

all the time.

Like I hope the wind

doesn't blow so hard tomorrow.

I hope it doesn't rain.

I hope the Cowboys win.

We know none of those things

are going to change anything.

You know, I'm so happy

for Cowboy fans right now.

You don't have to lose

because you didn't make

the playoffs.

But it hurts me too

because I do want to cheer

for my hometown team.

But I think sometimes

we think of hope

and we see it in the Bible

and we talk about a hope

that fadeth not away

and we have a anchor,

a hope that we anchor

our soul to

and we kind of equate it

how we relate to hope.

Our hope many times

is wishful thinking.

You know, we're going

to cross our fingers

and hope it works out.

We're going to wing it

and play it by ear.

Sometimes our hope

is blind optimism.

You know, if we just

speak it into existence,

maybe it will happen.

That's not what

biblical hope is.

I think a good definition

of biblical hope

is a sure and confident

expectation of receiving

what God has promised us

in the future.

That we're anchored

to something.

God said it.

It might not be taking

place right now,

but we know this.

If God said it,

that settles it.

And that's what Peter's

reminding them

because they are literally

going through the fire.

They are going through

extreme persecution.

But he's saying,

listen, there's a hope

that is anchored

because God said so

and he always comes through.

He always keeps

his promises.

How do we know that?

How do we know

that God will keep

his promises?

Because he has proven

himself time and time

and time and time again.

And he wanted these readers

to go back in their mind

and to remember that,

yes, it's hard,

but listen,

I should have been done there.

And that could have been

the end there.

And this situation

could have really set us back.

But guess who showed up

there and there and there?

God.

And I remind you

this evening

that life might be difficult

and you might walk

through some hard valleys.

Maybe you're in one right now

and sometimes it feels

like it's pretty dark

and I'm not sure

I'm coming out

on the other side,

but here's the truth

that we have a shepherd

that even though

we walk through the valley

of the shadow of death,

he's with us.

We don't have to fear

what's going to happen.

Why can we say that?

How could David pin that?

Because they knew this,

God always shows up

and that's what we hold on to.

And Peter calls it

not just a good hope,

not a solid hope.

You know,

I like good things.

I like things that are solid,

things that I can count on.

Here's what he calls it

in verse number three,

unto a lively hope.

A hope that's living,

a hope that is active,

a hope that is present,

a hope that is powerful,

that when you wake up

in the morning,

it's there.

When you go to sleep

at night,

it's there,

that it's God

that's holding you together,

that it's God

that is sustaining you

and that hope,

it works in us

and that hope,

it steadies us

and that hope sustains us.

Why?

Because it's alive.

It's not a word

in a dictionary.

It's a person

and he's on the throne

in heaven

and he's hopefully

on the throne

in our own life.

And we hear this

and I read these verses

and when I read

a few of these verses here,

when I read verse number four

about the inheritance

coming my way

and we can rejoice

in the Lord

and we have joy unspeakable

and full of glory,

I'm thankful for that.

But here's the reality.

Something's probably

going to come my way

this week

where I'm going to think,

Lord,

where are you?

Lord,

this doesn't look good.

This situation,

you know,

like I know

I preach the message

but this looks

kind of hopeless.

When that anxiety rises,

when that fear

tries to displace

that hope,

sometimes we ask,

why do I feel this way?

Instead of that,

maybe this week

when a difficulty

comes in your life,

ask this,

what has God promised?

Listen,

if you anchor yourself

to your feelings,

you're going to be

a miserable person.

Because that's what your feelings

are like,

a roller coaster.

Sometimes they're really good.

Sometimes they're scary.

Sometimes you're pretty sure

you're going to die.

Sometimes you're just passed out.

You don't know

what's going on.

You know,

I don't want my life

to be a roller coaster.

But if I'm anchoring

my hope

to my feelings,

that's what it's going

to feel like.

There's going to be

great days.

Then there's going to be

days that feel like

there is no hope.

But if we ask ourselves

that question,

what has God said

about this?

What has God promised?

We sing the whole song too,

standing on the promises.

Find a promise.

When you're dealing

with something in your life,

guess what?

The Bible has something

to say about it.

Go to the Word of God,

find it,

and claim it.

Trust God that what He says,

that He holds His promises,

that all His promises

are yes and amen.

That they are intended

for us to hang on to.

That we can anchor

ourselves to that.

And so once we kind of

understand what

biblical hope is,

the next question

that kind of flows

out of that

is where does it come from?

We talk about it all the time.

It's all over the pages

of Scripture,

but where does it come from?

Verse 3,

there again at the end

of the verse.

Again,

unto a lively hope,

here's where it comes from,

by the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

from the dead.

It's as simple as that.

Everything we have

in this life,

everything we're hoping for,

everything we're anchored to,

is based on the fact

that the tomb

is empty.

That Jesus Christ

did exactly

what He said

He was going to do.

I don't know about you,

but I am thankful

that our hope,

that my hope,

is not based on

my faithfulness.

I think you should be as well.

Because there are some days

and there are some weeks

that I'm killing it.

I'm like,

man,

I'm good at this.

And there are some days

as the preacher,

I think,

I don't want to go to church.

I'm tired of serving.

I'm tired.

Am I the only one?

Okay,

I know it's Sunday night,

just making sure,

just making sure

that this thing's on.

Listen,

I'm thankful that

it's not based on that.

I'm thankful

that the hope

that Peter speaks of

in this book

that we're going to see

is not based on circumstances.

Because sometimes

when circumstances are good,

you're thinking,

hey,

this is going to be a good day.

You wake up,

you say,

oh,

it's going to be a great day.

We know this,

circumstances in life

just change like this.

I mean,

we see it here

in the weather.

I mean,

it's a beautiful day,

it's 80,

and then you look at the news

and you're like,

guess what,

it's going to drop

57 degrees overnight.

Well,

I'm glad my hope

is not based on the weather.

But we're not basing it

on circumstances.

Because they're

constantly changing.

Our joy's not found in that,

it's found in Christ.

Listen,

our hope

is not on the ability,

our own ability

to hang on.

Because sometimes

we're not even hanging by a thread,

we're just done.

That's not what it's based on.

Our hope

is solely based

on the fact

that there was a Savior

who lived

and died

and was buried

and rose again.

That's what we're anchored to.

That's what Peter's reminding him.

That's why we have

an inheritance

incorruptible.

If it was based on us,

it would be moth and rust

and it does corrupt.

But it's not.

We're laying up treasures

in heaven

based on Christ

and that's where

he's taking us

and everything God promises.

Salvation

and forgiveness

and eternal life.

It stands

on the authority

of the empty tomb.

That's what we can live

and base our life on.

Listen,

if Christ was still

in the grave,

hope would be

nothing more

than just

religious optimism.

Sometimes when you

try to share your faith,

people say,

well that's just a crutch

for the weak.

Well it would be

if Jesus was still

in the grave.

That's exactly

what it would be.

But he's not.

He is alive.

And because he lives

and because the grave

is empty,

hope is alive.

And it's available

right now.

And we need to be

reminded of this

because maybe you think,

well life's pretty good

right now.

But let me remind you

that in this life

you will have tribulation.

And you're going to

walk through a moment

in life where the doctor

says,

I don't know how else

to say this,

but you have cancer.

I don't know how else

to say this.

I don't know how to say this.

And you think,

how am I going to move forward?

Here's how you're going

to move forward.

Jesus Christ.

That he knows

the way you take.

That he knows

where your life is.

And some practical things

just to think about

is when something

doesn't go your way.

When hope seems like

it's slipping out

of your hands.

We can just remind

ourselves of this

great truth.

That the same power

that raised Christ

from the dead

is still alive

and well.

And it's available

to you.

And he knows

where you are.

He knows what you're

walking through.

And when you understand

that and when you see

your hope is rooted

in the resurrection,

the contrast between

the believer's hope

and the world's hope

becomes very clear.

It becomes very obvious.

Because the world's hope,

here's the truth,

it always fails.

It always fails.

When Jesus gets,

he's wrapping up

his Sermon on the Mount

there in Matthew

chapter number 7,

he gives an illustration.

He gives an illustration

about two men

that built a house.

Same materials,

same general location

is what we see,

but they built on

two very different

foundations.

He said the man

that built his house

on the rock,

when the winds came

and the rains came

and the floods rose,

here's what happened

to the house.

It stood.

But those,

the other man

that built on the sand

when the winds came

and the waters came

and all that,

guess what?

The house was gone.

And we look at the world

and we think,

why does it seem,

when I put my trust

and maybe my own ingenuity

and my own thinking,

why does it fade away?

Because it's sinking sand.

The world doesn't build

on a solid foundation.

And even as Christians,

we know we're to build

on the Word of God,

the solid rock,

but we live in the world

and you know what we think?

Let me just Google this.

Let me see a way out of this.

Let me find a quick fix.

You know in America,

you know what we love

more than anything?

A quick fix.

You look at every

almost commercial

and every ad,

you know what they're trying to do?

Quick, fix your life real quick.

They're going to fix this health

and fix this

and you just take this one thing,

you don't have to change anything else,

just take this magic pill

and everything will be better.

Sometimes life doesn't work that way.

And we have to go through the storm,

we have to deal with the difficulties.

The world is always promising a better.

If we just trust their ways,

it's going to work out.

I know some of you,

history bores you to death,

so fall asleep real quick,

I'll wake you up in a second.

You know anything about Russian history?

1918,

really the Russian Revolution,

taken over

and the people were promised hope.

They were promised equality

and prosperity

and a better future.

They called it communism.

And they tried that experiment

for about 70 years.

And guess what?

They were miserable.

And they were hopeless.

And that experiment,

it collapsed

because it was built

on human thinking

and godless power.

I know that's an extreme thing,

but sometimes in our own life,

we think,

hey,

I know what's best for me.

Listen,

if I could just get this lined up

and I can kind of move

some things around here

and do this,

then I'll have a little bit of hope

that I can hang on to.

Well, guess what?

It's going to collapse

just like this experiment did in Russia.

Because it's not based on the word of God.

It's based on our own thinking

and our own mentality.

And the same is still true today.

You know,

every time,

it seems like every time I turn around,

it's an election season.

I'm just tired of it.

I'm tired of commercials.

I'm tired of signs about it.

I'm tired of this.

But if you think about it,

every election promises hope.

Some recent campaigns

have even run on that word.

It's a hope

and change

and everybody's going to fix the economy

and heal the society

and build a better future.

But here's the problem.

It's built on the same old foundation.

It's just man's wisdom

recycled a failed system.

And yes,

we should vote

and we should try to do our part

as citizens

as believers

and we should vote

by what the word of God says.

But we understand this.

It's not going to change the world.

You know what's going to change the world?

Christians living like Christians.

Because that's what happened here

in Peter's time.

I mean,

when you go from the book of Acts

after the resurrection of Christ,

Christianity should have been gone

a long time ago.

But Christians living for Christ

in a Christ-like manner

changed the world.

Acts 17,

I think they said it like this.

They turned the world upside down.

But really,

here's what they did.

They just turned it right side up.

Really,

the whole Bible's about this.

Turning everything

the way it should be.

That Christ has a way

that we should live our life

and Scripture reminds us

that hope deferred,

it maketh the heart sick

and we can't be looking for hope

in all these different ways.

No, we don't have to wait for hope.

We're not hoping it comes.

No,

it's here.

And we have Him in our lives

if we know Him as our Savior.

And I'm sure your life,

I'm sure recent years,

has taught us,

if it's taught us anything,

it's this,

that God has to be our hope.

I mean,

I go back to 2020,

I mean,

it just kind of seemed like,

wow,

that was wild,

wasn't it?

Everything we thought

we could kind of anchor

a little bit to,

even if we knew we shouldn't,

we think,

well,

at least we have this,

at least we have that.

I mean,

within a week,

this world was turned upside down.

I don't know if you're like me,

but sometimes you would read it

and how it says

when the Antichrist comes

in the last days,

everybody's going to be deceived.

You're like,

how's that even possible?

I mean,

the whole world,

really?

Well,

it took like six days.

It was almost like a trial run.

And you're thinking,

whoa.

Well,

we realized this,

and I think it woke

a lot of Christians up,

like,

maybe we were trusting

a lot of other things

instead of really placing our trust

in God.

And Peter kind of wants them

to understand this.

And as Christians,

he's reminding them

that we have a lively hope,

a hope that doesn't collapse

when circumstances change,

because they're going to change.

Things that were true last week

probably aren't going to be true this week.

Don't you love watching the news?

They'll come on one week

and they'll say,

chocolate is the worst thing

you could eat in your life.

And then the next week,

it's obviously slow news week,

they got some guy on there

that's like 175,

like,

what's the secret to being in

and living so long?

And he's like,

I eat chocolate

for three meals a day.

And so everybody starts eating chocolate.

Listen,

the world's truth changes all the time

and the hope,

well,

I'm going to try this,

I'm going to hope this.

Listen,

I want to hope that's steady.

I want to hope that's constant.

And that is found in Christ

because he is the same yesterday

and today and forever.

It's not based on circumstances.

And Peter wanted them

to be able to hold on to that.

So if our hope is real

and living and secure,

why do we need it so badly?

We already have it.

We already have Christ.

Well,

Peter answers that

as we're going to walk through this book.

We're not going to look at every situation tonight

because we're going to do that

over the next few weeks.

But here's the reason

Peter wants us to understand

what this hope is

because we need it

for the journey.

Because yes,

there is coming a day

we will see him.

We've already said that.

But until then,

he has a job for us to do here.

He has a life for us to live here.

He's placed you at your work.

He's given you a family to raise.

He's given you an opportunity

to serve in a local church.

And we see that

and Jesus prayed in John chapter 17

John 17 · chapter mention

that we would be in the world

but not of it.

That we can't as Christians,

we can't remove ourselves

and say we're just going to

hang on until Jesus comes.

No, in fact,

Jesus says this,

Occupy till I come.

Get to work.

Go ye therefore

into all the world

and preach the gospel.

And Peter tells these believers,

if you have your Bible still open

in chapter 2,

verse number 11,

he says this,

Dearly beloved,

I beseech you,

he's begging you,

he's reminding you

as strangers

and pilgrims.

We already referenced it

and we already sang it.

But Peter reminded them

just as much as he reminds us today

through the Holy Spirit

that this world is not our home.

That we're just on a journey.

That this is not our final destination.

This is not live and let live

because eat, drink and be merry

because tomorrow we die.

No, the Bible's clear

that there's coming a day

where we're all going to stand

before Christ.

And that we're going to see him.

And Peter wanted them

to understand

and we can take this truth

to our own life.

We're not meant to settle here.

You know,

it's not he who dies

with the most toys wins.

We're not living

for the here and now.

We're not meant

to plant roots here.

We're meant to store up

treasure in heaven.

Oh, I love this thought

that we're here

to make heaven crowded.

That the only thing

that we can take

is people.

That we share the gospel with.

That it may be sometimes

in the throes of parenting

and you're thinking,

is this worth it?

No, it is worth it.

And here's your number one job

to show them who God is.

And to train them up

in the love

and the nurture

and the admonition

of the Lord

and to shape their hearts

for eternity.

At your school,

it's important

that you live a life

that is pleasing to God

that others see it

and say,

you know what?

What do you have?

Because even at your school,

guess what a lot of people

don't have?

Hope.

You know what some of your coworkers

are searching for?

Hope.

Just something they can hang on.

Something that they can just think,

well, if I can just,

if I have a little something,

even if it's not real,

maybe I can make it

to tomorrow

and next week

and next year.

Listen,

you have a great opportunity

to share the truth with them.

But sometimes

when we forget

we're on a journey,

we have a job

that we're called to do

and we start thinking

and start looking

for this heaven-level satisfaction

from an earth-level world,

it's going to lead

to frustration

and spiritual weariness.

We're going to get frustrated,

we're going to think,

well, this is just not worth it,

I'm just going to do nothing.

We may not say that out loud,

but sometimes our life

lives that way.

And I think when

we begin to feel that way,

we need to ask ourselves

and we can really ask ourselves

this every day,

am I living for comfort here

or for glory later?

Because sometimes

if we really step back

and we really take inventory

of our life,

the reason we're frustrated,

the reason our hope

doesn't feel real

is because we're living

more for the here and now

than what Christ

has called us to.

We're more in on this world

than we are on the journey

God has called us on,

on the mission

that He has placed us in.

And once you realize

that you're a pilgrim

and not a settler,

it helps you understand

why this is absolutely necessary.

And Peter's going to show us

as we walk through here,

we need it because hope

is the only thing

that will sustain us

on the journey.

It's not going to be your job.

It's not going to be this,

it's not going to be that.

It's going to be the fact

that Jesus Christ loves you,

that He died for you,

that He rose again for you,

and that hope

is going to change

how you look at that situation,

and that health diagnosis,

and that financial hardship,

and raising a family,

and your marriage,

it's going to change everything.

Because that's what Jesus does.

Is Jesus changes all of that.

Kids these days,

I love to say that,

you know,

they have all these

crazy weird games they play,

and Fortnite,

and all these weird ones,

and I'm like,

what is even going on?

They don't know

that the greatest game

you could ever play

in elementary school

was called the Oregon Trail.

I used to,

yeah,

some of you know,

this is going to speak

to your heart.

I used to rush through my work

so I could play the Oregon Trail.

And I'd get on there,

and the Oregon Trail,

you type your name in,

and you get your family there,

and you're super excited.

It's this little green,

little wagon

that's going across the thing.

Man,

y'all don't even know,

this is awesome.

And here's the idea,

you're hoping

you make it to Oregon.

You never do.

Typhoid gets you

every time.

And then you have to start over,

and then you're on your way again,

and then you,

every time you go past

the grave markers,

it's like,

Tyler died of typhoid.

So I just started naming

all my enemies,

like my sister,

and my sister,

and all those people.

But when you're playing

that game,

all the hope you had

fades when your wagon

breaks,

and the food runs out,

and the journey

really becomes hard.

But this is going to

shock y'all even more.

There was a real Oregon Trail.

Come to find that out.

And you think,

when you really think about that,

like,

it's hard enough on a game.

I can't imagine

telling your family here,

I know we live in Tennessee,

but I've heard about

this place called Oregon.

We're going to get in a wagon.

You know why they got in a wagon

and tried to cross

the entire country,

tried to go through

the Rocky Mountains,

tried to go through

all of this,

and travel wasn't easy,

and the reason it wasn't

is because it was

a difficult time,

but they did it for this reason,

hope of a better life.

You know,

we celebrate Thanksgiving,

and we go,

maybe your kids,

when they were younger

in school,

they did a little play

about the pilgrims.

You know why the pilgrims

came here?

For hope of a better life.

A chance to worship

the Lord freely.

Hope is going to do that,

and it just reminds us

of this great truth,

that those people

on that Oregon Trail

and those pilgrims

crossing the ocean

in difficult travel conditions,

they did it because

they had a hope,

and hope does not

remove the journey,

but it sustained them on it.

They were looking forward

to something greater

and something better,

and we might be

on the journey,

and life might get hard,

and sometimes it feels

like your wagon's

breaking down,

and your food's running out,

but here's the beautiful thing,

that we're not settling here,

we're pressing on.

We're aiming for Christ,

and that's what Peter's

telling them,

that this lively hope

that you have,

it's going to carry you through,

and so when life feels hard,

don't quit.

Don't give in.

Just remind yourself,

like Peter's going to remind us

again and again

through this little study,

that this is part of the journey.

It's not the end of the story.

No, the end of the story

is when we see our Savior

face to face.

When we step into

the city of God.

But Peter doesn't just tell us

to endure the journey.

What we're going to walk through

and see is he's going to show us

how to live faithfully

while we're on it.

He kind of gives some

survival instructions,

because sometimes life

feels like that.

We're going to see Peter's

going to give some practical

guidance when it comes to

how to be a godly citizen,

because they're dealing

in a situation

where the government

is completely against them.

We'll talk about it here

in a second,

and he's saying,

listen,

that doesn't change

your responsibility.

It doesn't change

the way that you

should live your life.

In fact,

you should live your life

in a manner that still

points to Christ

and honoring the authority

God has placed in your life.

He's going to deal with

unfair work conditions.

You're like,

I'm bringing my boss that day.

Tell me what day that is.

He's going to talk about

how to live among unbelievers.

He speaks at length

about that.

Because the majority

of his readers

would have been living

amongst unbelievers,

and guess what?

I think we are as well.

Everywhere we go,

we meet people.

We work with them.

We live in the neighborhood

with them.

They're at the store with us.

How do we live a life

that points to Christ?

How do we live in a world

but not be of the world?

He talks about honoring God

in your marriage.

He talks about loving

fellow believers.

Sometimes it's easier

to get along with unbelievers

than it is believers.

Yeah.

Peter addresses that.

Because it's a practical thing

that these people needed.

And the idea is this book

was to give hope

for the destination

and wisdom

while you're on the way there.

That's really what

the Bible is about.

But really,

it's kind of encapsulated

in here.

Peter reminds me

of the book of James.

It's short and to the point

because they didn't have

any other option

because life was coming

at them fast.

They're scattered abroad.

Persecution's there.

And even with the hope

for the journey

and the instruction

for the daily living,

there's one more reality

that Peter kind of hits

and we see it here

in chapter number 4.

Here's what he says

in chapter 4,

verse number 12.

He said,

Beloved,

talking to believers,

think it not strange

concerning the fiery trial

which is to try you

as though some strange thing

happened unto you.

You know why we need hope?

Because life's going to throw

some fiery trials your way.

It's going to bring

some things across your desk

that you didn't plan on,

that you didn't sign up for.

And many times,

you did nothing to bring it on

but it's just,

we live in a broken world.

And we mentioned

at the beginning

that Peter's writing from Rome

in around 67 AD

is what many scholars

would believe.

But if you studied

Roman history

a few years earlier,

about three years earlier,

Rome burned under

an emperor named Nero.

You know, Nero,

he was not a good guy.

He was all about Nero.

He was,

even his own Roman citizens

really didn't care for him.

But when Rome started

to burn literally

to the ground

and the fires were taking over,

Nero needed somebody

to shoulder the blame.

Because it definitely

wasn't his fault.

And even though

there's conspiracies

that he's the one

that set the blaze

to build certain things

he wanted,

you know,

he blamed Christians.

Christians.

And that's where

the brunt fell.

And we think to ourselves,

well, how would

a lot of people

believe that?

William Barclay,

one of the commentators,

he points out

and reminds us

that Christians

were already

the objects

of slander

and hostility.

We said earlier

as well

that in the mind

of Romans

they were confused

at what Christians

really were.

What they thought

they were

was just a different

sect of Judaism.

And they knew this,

we don't like Jews.

And so there was

that natural hatred

for them

and so as a result

they were an easy target.

Nero kind of pounced

on it and said,

listen,

they're the ones

that started this.

They're the ones

talking about how

God's going to bring

judgment

and they're bringing

it on Rome

and because of that

persecution followed.

And you study

what they're dealing

with just from history.

Christians were

burned alive.

They were torn

apart by animals.

They were used

as sport

in the Colosseum.

They were crucified.

They were tortured.

And this persecution

really wasn't limited

to the city limits

of Rome.

By the time Paul is,

I mean Peter is

writing this letter,

it spread to Asia Minor

where these believers,

they had fled Rome

for their life

and guess what?

The persecution

still followed.

And with that backdrop

in mind,

Peter's words

kind of carry

a little bit more

weight.

In fact,

they sound strange.

He said,

listen,

don't think it's strange

concerning what's

happening right now.

He goes on

in verse number 14.

If you be reproached

for the name of Christ,

happy are ye

for the spirit

and glory of God

rest upon you.

On their part,

he is evil spoken of,

but on your part

he is glorified.

Verse 16,

he says this,

yet if any man

suffer as a Christian,

let him not be ashamed,

but let him glorify God

on this behalf.

These are strange words

unless hope is alive.

Unless Jesus Christ is real.

Unless the tomb is empty.

See,

these words only make sense

if this world

is not your home.

Our hope is Jesus

who rose from the dead

and will come again.

And that's what Peter's

reminding him.

It kind of echoes

if it kind of sounds familiar.

It sounds a lot like

what Jesus said

in the Sermon on the Mount.

Blessed are ye

when you are persecuted,

when you reviled

for my name's sake.

Listen,

we're not looking for it,

but here's the reality.

Sometimes it comes.

We can't think,

I think especially

in our culture today,

we would just kind of

associate,

well if something bad

is happening

and then something wrong,

you must have done

something wrong.

I'm going through

the book of Job right now.

All of Job's friends,

everybody's like,

listen Job,

we like you,

but you're obviously a sinner.

Bad things don't happen

to good people.

It's like,

hey,

as long as I come to church

and I put a little bit

of offering in the plate

and I do this,

then everything should be

good in my life.

That's not true.

That's nowhere to be found

in this Bible.

In this world

ye shall have tribulation,

but be of good cheer,

Jesus says,

for I have overcome

the world.

That's exactly what

Peter's saying here.

We're going to see that

as we move through

this book.

Instead of asking maybe,

Lord, how can I escape this?

Lord, how can I get rid of this?

Lord, how can I just move on

from this awful situation?

Maybe we need to say,

Lord, how can I glorify you

in this?

Lord, how do you want to use

my family in this situation?

Lord, what do you want me

to do in this health crisis?

What do you want me to do

in this financial situation?

Maybe God has allowed

some of those things.

I loved when Brother Garrett preached.

Was that last week, I think?

Yeah.

The Lord burned his battery up

under warranty

so he could go to AutoZone

and a guy says,

hey, where do you go to church?

And I loved his transparency.

I'd be frustrated

when your battery goes out,

you're like, not again.

I can't afford this right now.

You know, batteries and tires

never go out

when you actually have money.

No, it's when you spend

all your money

and then they're all blowing up

and everything going.

Like, Lord, why?

But sometimes God

is orchestrating weird things

and allows weird things

to happen in our life

to put us in a position

to glorify him.

And that's what Peter's saying.

He's reminding us

to ask ourselves that question.

So I just want to ask you,

believer,

as we close tonight,

are you living like a pilgrim

on a journey?

Are you living like this world

is your home?

Because depending on how you're living

is going to change

the hope that you have.

It's going to change

your perspective.

If you're trying to live

for the here and now,

even if you know Christ,

you're going to be frustrated.

You're going to be tired.

You're going to be

just really,

just downtrodden.

And I understand,

I've been there.

Because sometimes what

hardship and disappointment does,

it dulls your hope.

You know,

every once in a while

I take my glasses off

and think,

man,

I need to clean these things.

No wonder I can't see.

They're all smudged up

and everything.

Sometimes we just need

to take some time

and reset.

Kind of clean off

our lenses of our life,

so to speak,

and remember

that we were begotten

unto a lively hope.

Jesus Christ didn't raise