What Is Your Hope Level Right Now? | 1 Peter 1:1-8 | Matt Lillicrap

We're going to spend some time looking at 1 Peter

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, those words we heard read. And as

we come to this part of God's word, I wonder

if you could do something for me. Could you rate

your hope level right now? So look within, somewhere

on a scale 1 to 10, give yourself a number. How

would you rate your hope? I guess some of you,

it might be, actually it's quite high. Seven,

eight, nine, the sun is shining at last. The

summer is here. I know that over the last couple

of days, it's been coming towards the end of

time at college for some of you. Your heart is

singing with the last year or two or three or

maybe four years of theology and joy. All that

you've learned here is causing your heart to

sing. You can't wait to share it with those the

Lord is going to put in your path in the coming

months, coming years. But I wonder if there's

some in the room who'd put their number a little

lower. It's more like two, three, four. Summer

is here and it just feels a bit blank. I remember

that feeling at college. Like, what am I going

to do between now and September? And I'm not

really sure. And ministry is perhaps approaching

and you feel the weight of it. And you feel anxious.

Or perhaps ministry is not approaching and you

feel the weight of the uncertainty. Where's the

Lord going to take you? Just not sure. It is

an undeniable human need, hope. Psychologists,

sociologists, theologians will say humans need

hope. We cannot function without it. Before I

came to Oak Hill, I was a medical doctor. I worked

in care of the elderly medicine. And I learned

pretty quickly, looking after people 75 or over,

that there are, generally speaking, two types

of older person. There is the older person who

somehow has managed to hold on to hope, and it

shines from within them. They are smiley. They

are a joy to be around. They will tell you wonderful

stories of their life and their family and their

children and their grandchildren and all sorts

of other things. And then there's the older person

who has lost hope. And they are cynical. They

are bitter. I remember one woman, I will never

forget her, looking after her, and she was venomous.

towards all the doctors, all the nurses who were

seeking to look after her. She was very difficult

even to get past what was wrong with her and

understand what was happening. But there was

one moment when I was with her, when the curtain

fell, there was just a little chink as to what

was going on, and she said, look, I haven't got

anything to live for, just put me down. That's

what happens when you lose hope. But we, Christians,

we're people of hope. And you guys, many of you,

are training to be already professional people

of hope. Wanting to hold out the hope of Christ

to those in a world where hope is so desperately

needed. And I guess the question then is how

can we be sure? How can we really know for certain

that hope? When life is hard, when ministry is

hard, and Jesus promises it will be, how can

we be sure? that that hope has got a foundation.

How will you be able to keep watch over the flock

of God, as we heard in Acts, and hold out that

hope towards them? Well, 1 Peter is a book of

hope. It's a letter of hope written to a group

of struggling Christians. Many of you know this.

Ostracized, marginalized on the edges of society,

under threat of increasing persecution. And yet

Peter is unapologetically joyful, isn't he? Unapologetically

joyful. And he invites us in as we open his letter

and hear the first words, come delight deeply

with me in the hope of Christ. Delight deeply

in the hope of Christ. And so I want to ask,

I wonder how do you usually picture the writers

of the Bible? Do you ever do that? Do you ever

picture them as they write their letters? How

do you picture Peter writing 1 Peter? Who's in

your mind? Is it a fairly serious -minded guy?

Perhaps dressed darkly, thinking about high theology.

Serious matters, weighty matters. Is that who

you picture? I think sometimes maybe we're tempted

to picture the writers of the Bible like that.

But whether it's Paul in Ephesians 1 or Peter

here, praise be to the God and Father, our Lord

Jesus Christ. That is not the image that we get

from reading his words. Praise be to the God

and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is overflowing

with joy. Verses 3 to 12 are one long sentence.

And I guess I once got a little glimpse of what

it must have been like to be Peter's kind of

amanuensis, writing out with Peter. When I was

chatting to one of my daughters a number of years

ago, I finished a long shift, I was halfway through

a long shift on the wards. It was late, it was

just about her bedtime, and I got a quick break,

so I rang her up. She must have been about three.

to find out what kind of a day she'd had. And

it turned out she'd had a great day. She'd been

to a toddler group at church. She'd had a gift

from her cousin in the post. She'd had some friends

over to play. And she'd had her favorite food,

the tea. I mean, when you're three, days don't

get much better than that. And as the phone was

handed over to me, this is what I got from her.

She just went, Daddy! Daddy, there's a sticky

bumblebee, Daddy. We went to Toddler's and my

cousin Alex sent me a picture and the story was

about Daniel and the Lions, which is my favourite,

and Matthew and Ethan came to play and we went

there on the train and there's a sticky flower

on it as well and I showed Matthew my toys and

it's so pretty, Daddy. And God rescued Daniel

from the Lions and we had sausages for tea. It

was just pure, unadulterated joy just tumbling

out of her mouth, no stopping for breath, no

stopping for punctuation, just sharing it. And

perhaps with a bit more coherence. That's the

mood we find Peter in here. Praise be to the

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Come

delight deeply with me in the hope of Christ.

To which as we look around the world, and if

your hope level is down at two, three, four,

you might go, why? Why, Peter? Why, praise be?

Why delight with you in this hope? And I think

Peter gives us four reasons why. First, this

hope is rooted in God's character. In his great

mercy, Peter says. Which the immediate question

should be, well, how great? Just really, really

great? Like, we've got the greatest mercy? Is

that the sort of mercy? No, no, no, it's beyond

that. This is infinite mercy. Unfathomable. mercy

inexpressible inexhaustible mercy because this

is not just mercy which God does it's not just

that God acts mercifully is it it's that this

is mercy that God is it is what God is he is

mercy and love and grace and wisdom and justice

and knowledge and power he is all that he is

always at full volume all the time That is who

God is. Everything he is at full volume all the

time. You cannot turn this God down. You cannot

turn this God up because he is at maximum volume.

And that means he is unchanging. The unchanging

merciful one. Have you ever stopped to really

consider how significant that is? That God is

the unchanging merciful God, the unchanging God

of all? Because you and me and the world, we're

changing all the time, aren't we? As you sit

where you are right now, your body is making

25 million new cells per second. Your brain is

processing about 100 million new pieces of information

every second. Our location is moving at 66 ,000

miles per hour. Let alone the social and political

changes that affect our country all the time.

Compare that with God. Here's what A .W. Tozer

said about this. What peace it brings to the

Christian's heart to realize that our heavenly

father never differs from himself. Or in coming

to him at any time and not wondering whether

we find him in receptive mood. He is always receptive

to misery and need as well as to love and faith.

He will not fade. He does not keep office hours

nor set aside periods when he will see no one.

Neither does he change his mind about anything.

Today, he feels towards his creatures, the sick,

the fallen, the sinful, exactly as he did when

he sent his only begotten son into the world

to die for mankind. That is the unchanging mercy

of God, the great mercy of God. So Peter says,

delight deeply in the hope of Christ because

it's rooted in God's character. And it is also

dependent on God's initiative. Verse 3 again,

in his great mercy, he has given us new birth.

That's a pretty deliberate image Peter is using

there, new birth. New birth, you can't take credit

for birth. I mean, it would be ridiculous to

consider one baby saying to another on a maternity

unit, see that? Smashed it. No, birth is something

that happens to you. New birth is something that

happens to us. And this new birth has two wonderful,

wonderful directions. It is new birth into an

inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or

fade. Remember, Peter was talking to ostracized,

marginalized Christians being disinherited in

their society. And he says, here is an inheritance

which is undying, undefiled, undimmed. So delight

deeply in the hope of Christ. And second, verse

4, into an inheritance that can never perish,

spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven

for you. There is no fading in this living hope

that Peter is describing. It's not the kind of

hope that comes with supporting England at sport.

No. Undying. Undefiled. Undimmed. So delight

deeply in the hope of Christ with me, Peter says,

because it is of supreme value more than anything

you could possibly conceive of. Whether that's

possessions, family, reputation, ministry, the

success of ministry, whether that's the opinion

of your fellow students. Or your faculty. The

hope of Christ blows it out of the water. All

because it is dependent on God's initiative.

This is not an identity, this new birth, this

living hope, this inheritance, is not an identity

which is achieved. It's an identity which is

received. Something God does for us. And that

runs against every single idea about human identity

that we hear in our culture today. We are meant

to be self -constructed individuals, self -actualizing.

We live in the age of what Charles Taylor calls

optionality. The age in which belief in God is

optional and assumed to be optional. It is possible

not to have a belief in God. That's the age we

live in. But here's the thing that we perhaps

missed. As that puts us into a space where we

are taught, told, we have to choose belief, choose

identity, become architects of ourselves. What

is it that we're trapped in? The fact that we

have to choose at all. The optionality is itself

trapping. There is no option other than to be

a chooser, as far as our world understands it.

But we have the hope of Christ, the delightful

hope of Christ that brings freedom to those trapped

in choosing. We do not need to be sovereign selves.

We can have the freedom of being the creatures

of the creator who made and saved us. So delight

deeply in the hope of Christ. Because this is

going to be kept by God's power. Verse 4, this

inheritance is kept in heaven for you. Imagine

the greatest, strongest possible trust fund.

No financial crisis can touch it. Kept for you.

But even more, you are kept for it. Verse 5,

who through faith are shielded by God's power

until the coming of the salvation that is ready

to be revealed in the last time. What is it Jesus

said? I give them eternal life and they shall

never perish. No one will snatch them out of

my hands. So delight deeply in the hope of Christ,

because as you trust in Jesus, it is kept for

you and you are kept for it just as much. Is

it any wonder that Peter delights? Can you see

what God has done, he is saying? Can you understand?

Can you let it sink in? Let this fire your heart.

All that God has done, no matter how dark the

sky might feel, there is always hope that the

sun will rise. But Peter, it's so dark. And the

time before the dawn is always the coldest. Peter

knows. Here's the fourth thing. It is refined

by God's plan. Verse 6, in all this you greatly

rejoice. Notice Peter takes that for granted.

Of course you greatly rejoice. Though now for

a little while you may have had to suffer grief

in all kinds of trials. Christians don't have

to float six inches above the surface of the

earth as though it doesn't touch us. Especially

Christian ministers. We don't have to do that.

Peter is realistic. And he presents to us a life

and a world of multicolored trials. Pink, purple,

yellow, like a bruise. Ostracized, threatened,

facing life in a fallen world, fighting with

sin, but most of all suffering for their faith,

for being Christians. Which means, notice, the

reason for the trials Peter is describing and

the reason for the hope Peter is describing are

the same. Does that not make the hope somewhat

naive? Is Peter naive? No. Two reasons. First,

these are passing trials, just for a little while.

One day we will look back together and we will

look on even the greatest of trials that we have

walked through, whatever they may be. And we

will see them as old tales as we stand before

the throne of the king. And second, they have

a purpose. These have come, verse 7, so that

the proven genuineness of your faith of greater

worth than gold, which perishes even though refined

by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor

when Jesus is revealed. You ever seen a picture

or even held gold that's just been dug up out

of the ground? It's beautiful. It glitters. It's

also kind of ugly. It's kind of just sort of

lumpy. Put that into fire and you can make something

stunning. And so it is with the new Christian.

There is a great beauty in what God has done

in giving them new birth. But he will spend the

rest of that Christian's life. beautifying that

Christian, until they glitter with love for Christ,

until their gaze is captivated, utterly captivated,

with nothing else but the hope of Christ. Ten

years from now, as you sit here, I'm about nine

years out from sitting there. So cast your mind

ten years from now, sitting here at Oak Hill.

What do you hope for? To see amazing things in

your ministry. To see the Lord transforming people.

That they might grow in their faith. That they

might come to faith. Maybe even seeing a revival

that's actually there and not even quiet. Seeing

amazing things. Do you know what would be a tragedy?

If you saw all of that and your love for Christ

had not deepened. Your love for Christ had not

grown. But here's the problem we fight with.

We want comfort more than we want holiness. We

want ease more than we want hardship. We want

success more than we want sacrifice. And so we

sting when we hear writers like Paul Tripp say,

God will take you where you don't want to go

in order to produce in you what you could not

achieve on your own. I wonder, do we really believe

it? Some of the hardest days in ministry. have

been for me, will be for you, some of the best

days in the classroom of grace. And you see the

result? It's seen. It's visible. Because what

we behold is what we become. What we delight

in is what we display. These things result in

praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is

revealed. To which the obvious question is, whose

praise, glory and honour? And we all go, wow,

Jesus is, right? And Peter goes, did I say that?

Did I say Jesus is? So do we owe ours? Can't

be right. Why not both? I wonder if you've ever

climbed a mountain just before dawn. My wife

climbed Kilimanjaro during her gap year. Got

up there just at sunrise. Treading up through

the snow, the bitter cold. absolutely awful,

hard steps, and then the sun burst through the

horizon. And it wasn't just that the sun was

glorious. The whole world glittered with glory.

Because when Jesus is revealed and the sun rises

for the final time, the point is we will reflect

his glory. Because what we behold, we become.

What we delight in, we display. And the point

for us now is that the sun hasn't yet broken

the horizon, but it is colouring the sky. Pink,

purple, yellow. Not a bruise, but the coming

of dawn. And so Peter writes, though you have

not seen him, you love him. And even though you

do not see him now, you believe in him and are

filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

For you are receiving the end result of your

faith, the salvation of your souls. See what

happens when a Christian keeps on going through

the trials of life. When Christians in ministry

keep on going through the trials of ministry,

is Jesus is shown to be worthy. As we delight

deeply in the hope of Christ, the hope of Christ

is seen to be worthy of our delight. He is more

precious than anything we could possibly imagine.

Possessions, family, reputation, ministry, success,

even the opinion of those sitting around you

right now. And so from 1 Peter, Jesus has this

question for us. Will we delight deeply in him?

Will we delight deeply in him? Will we delight

so deeply that it will bring the certainty in

all uncertainty, the determination in hardship,

and the unshakable, unmistakable worth of Christ

put on display as we delight deeply in our hope

in him? Let me pray for us. Our Father in heaven,

we praise you and we worship before you, the

Lord, the giver of all things, the Father of

our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We praise

you for him and we ask that we would delight

deeply in the hope that you have given us, that

that might issue in praise and glory when Jesus

Christ is revealed. Amen.