1 Peter: An Alien’s Hope

Good morning. My name is Eric. I'm the youth director here at Watermark Church, and like you heard, today we are starting a new series on 1 Peter.

And we'll be in 1 Peter for a few weeks, and it'll sort of lead us through the fall, where we're going to be looking at what is the church?

As a church, what should we be doing? How should we be living?

We're kicking it off today with looking at 1 Peter.

Since we're starting a new book, I figured it'd be good to give a little background on the book of Peter.

It was written by the Apostle Peter. He was one of Jesus' closest friends.

He was one of the guys, one of the 12 guys who followed Jesus around everywhere he went in his ministry.

And out of those 12, he sort of had this special place where he got to see things that even some of the other 12 didn't get to see.

But on the night when Jesus was put on trial right before being killed, he famously denied three times that he had ever met Jesus.

After Jesus' resurrection, Jesus reinstated him, and he affirmed three times that he does actually love Jesus.

And from the early days of the church, from the day of Pentecost when the church started, Peter was one of the major leaders in the church.

Anyone who had heard of Jesus in the world at that time probably would have heard of Peter as well,

because Peter was right there with Jesus from the start.

Peter was one of the leaders in the church from the start.

And so when Peter writes this letter, he starts it off saying,

Peter, an apostle of Christ.

And he doesn't really need to give much background or information about who he is,

because anyone who knows of Jesus would have heard of this Peter guy that goes with him also.

His audience, he addresses the letter to the elect exiles in the dispersion.

There's a few things we know about this audience.

There's a few things we don't know about this audience.

One thing we do know is that they were Christians.

When he says elect, he's talking about Christians, people who have been saved by Jesus.

We also know that they were most likely Gentiles, not Jews, for the majority of them.

The way that he addresses them later in the letter,

he talks about the way of life that they had before becoming Christians,

and it's a way of life that would have been characteristic of Gentiles at this time

and would not have been acceptable among Jews, even if they weren't Christians.

And so these are a group that maybe had some Jews in it, but primarily Gentiles.

It was Christians, and we know that they were exiles in some sense.

Now, the sense in which they were exiles, we're not 100% sure.

It could be a political thing.

If you look at the regions that he names right here,

he lists off five geographic areas in the Roman Empire

that are sort of all connected to each other.

And around the time when this letter was written,

those areas were being recolonized.

Rome decided, we're going to build these areas up.

We're going to send people over there to live in these areas

so that they can be big cities.

And they took people and sent them over there.

So it could be that as he writes to these people in this area,

they're actually exiles who were born somewhere else,

who maybe even became Christians somewhere else, like Rome,

and then got sent over to these areas to live there and colonize these areas

against their will, possibly even.

But that might not be the case.

But either way, they're exiles in another sense, in a deeper sense.

The fact that they're Christians means that they have a hope

that's different than the rest of the world around them.

The fact that they're Christians means that no matter where they're living,

in a sense, they're exiles,

because they're different,

because they hope in different things than the worlds around them,

because they look for different things than the world around them.

And their Christian identity made it

so that no matter where they were living,

whether it was the land of their birth or somewhere that they had been sent off

to recolonize,

they were in one sense,

one very real sense,

aliens and exiles,

people who didn't fully belong in the place that they were.

And as Peter writes this letter,

he does it because there's suffering going on

in the churches that he's writing to.

These people have gone through suffering,

and it's not just, you know,

life has suffering.

Life gets tough at times.

But these people had a different type of suffering.

They were suffering specifically because of their faith in Christ.

They were facing trials that weren't normal to everyday life,

specifically because they were following Jesus.

And Peter wants to write to them and encourage them and say,

look, you have this hope in Christ,

and it's causing you trials, but it's worth it.

And it gives you the strength to endure these trials with hope and with joy.

And it's not always going to be easy.

But it's worth it.

And so let's jump in and look at what exactly he says to them in this letter

about how to address their trials.

The first thing that I want us to notice is that he starts off

not by talking about their suffering,

but by talking about how amazing their salvation is.

Because he needs this as a foundation,

so that as they look at their suffering,

they can see, you know, this is tough,

but it's worth it.

And he starts off in verse 2.

He says,

He's talking about how they became Christians,

and he's starting off saying,

look, your salvation is a big deal.

Your salvation is so big of a deal

that every individual member of the Trinity got involved in it.

If you don't know much about Christianity,

we believe as Christians there's one God

who exists in three distinct persons,

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

And each of them works in different ways in our lives.

And Peter is starting off this letter saying,

look, every single individual member of the Trinity

got involved in your salvation.

Every single member of the Trinity cares about your salvation.

Every single member of the Trinity is at work in saving you.

Never, ever, ever think that your salvation

is some throwaway idea.

Never, ever, ever think that your salvation is unimportant.

Because your salvation is so important to God

that every single member of the Trinity

got involved in ensuring that you would be saved.

And he starts them off with this foundation

from the fact that it is the Trinity at work saving us.

And then he goes on, he says,

Blessed be God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

according to his great mercy,

he caused us to be born again to a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

He says, look, God saved us,

and when he saved us, he gave us a living hope.

Now from the day that we're born,

every single one of us hopes in something.

When we're babies,

it's someone to change our diaper when it's dirty

and feed us and keep us warm and comfortable.

And as we grow up,

our hopes develop and change,

and we end up placing our hope for life

in different things.

Maybe it's money,

maybe it's power,

maybe it's sex.

If you were here last week,

we talked about this idea also.

We called these things idols,

things that we build our lives around

instead of Jesus.

And Peter's saying,

look, all of these things that we hope in,

they're dead hopes.

They're never going to satisfy you.

They're never going to come through

on the promises they make for you.

Just as a case study,

let's look at money.

So many people spend their lives chasing money

because it holds out this promise

that if you get enough of it,

you'll be happy.

How many of us know people

who have taken a job that they hate

over a job that they would love

because the pay was better?

How many of those people that you know

that are working jobs that you hate

or that they hate

because of the better pay

are willing to sacrifice

everything else in life

and clear out their calendars

to stay late

working at this job that they hate

because they think

that they'll get a better paycheck

or a promotion by doing it?

How many of these people

that are working jobs they hate

for better pay

have ruined significant relationships

in their lives

in their effort to get more money?

I know lots of people.

And if you think about

these people that we know

that are working jobs they hate,

working excessive hours

at jobs they hate,

ruining relationships

for jobs that they hate,

because of the promise of money,

how many of them would honestly say

that they're happy

because of the amount of money

in their bank account?

People invest our entire lives

trying to get more and more and more

and it never satisfies.

If I think through the people

that I know

that are working these jobs

for more money,

that are working the crazy hours

for more money,

that have ruined significant relationships

in their attempt to get more money,

I can't think of one of them

that would honestly say,

I'm happy because of the amount of money

in my bank account.

What I've actually seen more often

is that they turn to other things

like alcohol,

partying,

sex,

because they realize

money's not fulfilling me

like I thought it was

and I need something else

to get me through.

Peter's saying,

whatever it is

that we hope in

besides Christ,

it's a dead hope.

It's going to require

everything from us

and it's never going to come through

with what it promises to give us.

We're going to build our lives around it

and it's going to tear out

everything that we have ever invested.

But Christ gives us a living hope.

He gives us a hope

that's not dependent

on the balance of our bank account.

He gives us a hope

that's not dependent

on our relationship status

or our position within the company.

He gives us a hope

that's secured

based on His love for us

which is guaranteed,

which is unchanging.

He saves us

and gives us this living hope.

Our salvation is a big deal.

He saves us from these dead hopes

and gives us a living hope.

Peter continues on.

He says,

to an inheritance

that is imperishable,

undefiled,

and unfading,

kept in heaven for you.

He says,

God is giving us an inheritance.

The interesting thing

about an inheritance is

it has nothing to do

with the person receiving it.

An inheritance is wholly dependent

on the wealth

and reliability

and generosity

of the one giving it.

The inheritance

that God is giving us

is not dependent on us.

It's not dependent

on our goodness.

It's dependent on God.

The infinitely wealthy,

infinitely generous God

who loves us

and saves us

and promises us

this inheritance.

Not based on what we've done

but on grace

that saves us

when we are rebels

and don't deserve it.

And it's not just

some throwaway inheritance either.

He says,

it is imperishable,

undefiled,

and unfading.

It's something

that is pure

and perfect

and can't be ruined

or corroded

or destroyed.

It's an inheritance

that will last,

that doesn't end

when we die,

that continues on

throughout eternity.

That is what God

is promising us.

And then he says

that this inheritance

is kept in heaven

for us.

The picture here

is sort of like

a parent who goes

to the store

and buys a toy

for their kid

for their birthday.

Right?

You go out

and you buy a Nerf gun

for your kid

and you take it home

and you hide it

because it's not

the kid's birthday yet.

And you have this present,

this Nerf gun

for your kid

and you're keeping it.

And it's not

that you're keeping it

because you never want

your kid to have it

but because there's

a specific time

on their birthday

that you're going

to give them this toy.

And so you have it

and you're keeping it.

And it's not a question

of are you going

to give it to them?

It's just a question

of when is the time

going to be right?

And that's what it's saying

about this inheritance here.

That God has this inheritance

for us

and it's not a question

of oh,

is he going to be good enough

to give it to us?

Is he going to be capable

of giving it to us?

No, it's just a question

of when is the time right?

He's got it.

He's keeping it.

It's secure.

It's guaranteed.

It's just a matter of time

until he gives it to us.

And then he continues on.

He says,

who by God's power

are being guarded

through faith

for salvation

ready to be revealed

at the last time.

As if it's not enough

that God has saved us.

As if it's not enough

that God has given us

this living hope.

As if it's not enough

that God has this inheritance

that he's promising for us.

he's also maintaining us.

He's guarding us.

He's protecting us.

He's keeping us going.

He's starting off saying

your salvation

is a huge deal.

Your salvation

gives you hope

that nothing else

in the world

can give you.

Your salvation

is dependent

on God

and God

takes it seriously.

And he says

to these Christians

that he's writing to

you need to understand this.

You need to get this.

Because

as great and awesome

as that is

the existence

of this great salvation

doesn't mean

life is going to be

always easy.

Actually because

of this great salvation

life's going to be

hard at times.

Because it means

that your hope

is different

than the world

around you.

It means

that if you're living

in light of this

great salvation

you're going to be

different

and people are going

to notice it

and you're not going

to fit in.

Because you aren't

going to have

the same hope as them.

They're not going

to have the same hope

as you

and things

are going to

get awkward

sometimes

between you.

There's going to be

times of trials

and suffering

that come

because of

your different hope

and it will lead

to suffering.

suffering.

He's not saying

go out

and try to suffer.

No, he's just saying

if you live

in light of this hope

if you live

as who you truly

are in Christ

there's going to be

times of suffering.

I think we don't

like to talk

about suffering

today.

We live in a society

where we want

things to be

comfortable,

we want things

to be convenient.

Suffering is

uncomfortable,

suffering is

inconvenient

and it requires

this long-term

perspective that we

often don't want

to have.

I was reading

an article this week

about a man,

he was a computer

programmer and he

got hired by

Goldman Sachs to do

programming on their

high-frequency

trading program.

Basically,

it's a computer

program that makes

lots of trades on

the stock market

really fast so they

can make loads of

money.

And he got hired

to do programming

on their high-frequency

trading software

and realized very

quickly that the

software they had

was old and

outdated and it

was slow and it

was forfeiting loads

of profits that the

company could have

been making.

And he went to his

bosses and he said,

hey, this software is

old and outdated,

let me build something

new from scratch.

It will make us way

more money in the

long run.

It will be way

quicker, way more

efficient.

And the bosses

said, nah,

we're already

making $300 million

a year, US,

with the software

that we have.

And even though

your software could

make us a few

hundred million

dollars a year

more, in the

short term, it

would cost the

company because we

would have to pay

you to develop it

when it's not

making any money.

We would have to

go through the

difficulty of

switching over our

software.

It's going to

cost us in the

short term and we

can't afford those

short term losses.

So Goldman's

forfeited hundreds

of millions, if not

billions of dollars

of profits, because

they had this

short term perspective,

not a long term

perspective.

And I think that's

typical in our

world today.

We want to be

comfortable now, we

want to be safe

now, even if it

costs us in the

future.

But what the

Bible is calling

us to do is to

have a long term

perspective.

The Bible says,

look, we have this

great salvation, we

have this great

hope.

It's going to cost

us today, but it's

going to be worth it

in the future.

And again, this is

an attitude that

we've all seen

before.

Think about an

expat family coming

to Hong Kong.

The husband works

for some big bank

and the bank sends

them over here on

an assignment for

two or three years.

And they know that

once they get back

to the States, he's

going to get a huge

promotion, cut 15

years off of his

advancement through

the company.

It's going to be

amazing, they're

going to be making

way more money,

life's going to be

good, but they

come over here

and things are

frustrating because

people don't speak

their language and

there are strange

smells in the air.

And they can't tell

the cab driver how

to get to where

they need to go.

And they can't find

their favorite foods.

And there are

difficulties that

come into their

life specifically

because of the

long-term hope

that they have.

If they had just

stayed in America,

stayed comfortable,

these issues

wouldn't come up.

But because they

have the hope that

in a couple years

life will be better

forever, they go to

Hong Kong and they

endure these

difficulties specifically

because they know

that things are going

to be better in the

end.

They endure two or

three years of

hardship for 30 to

50 years of having

more money, of being

further along in the

company.

And it's a similar

picture that in

living in Christ,

it's going to be

difficult, but it's

worth it because he's

calling us to have

this long-term

perspective, to endure

some difficulties that

result directly from

this long-term hope,

but to endure these

difficulties with hope

because we know that

in the future it's

going to be worth it.

And again, he's not

just saying go out

there and look for

difficulties.

He's saying no.

As you go through

life, there are going

to be difficulties.

Like, again, that

expat couple.

They move to Hong

Kong.

It's not like they

need to go out and

look for ways that

life is going to be

difficult for them

living here.

They just come up and

they're like, why

Hong Kong?

At least a lot of

families that I've met

have that feeling.

And he's saying, you

know, this hope,

though, it's worth it.

This hope is what

gives us the strength

to endure through

those times because

we know it's tough

right now, but it's

not going to be this

way forever.

It's tough right now,

but I know that

because things are

going to be better

in the future, I can

endure these

difficulties for a

little bit.

Depending on our

circumstances, maybe

the trials that will

come up will be

things like loss of

friendships.

People don't want

to hang out with us

because we have

different hopes than

them and they can't

understand why we

would hope for the

things that we do.

Maybe it will cost

us a job because

we're not willing to

forfeit our families

for the company.

Maybe it means that

we'll be at our job

and we'll see people

around us making

huge profits that

we have to pass up

because it involves

exploiting vulnerabilities

in other people that

we're not willing to

exploit.

Maybe it means that

your family will

disown you.

Maybe for tens of

thousands of Christians

in Iraq and Syria

this week, it means

that you're going to

be driven from your

home and executed.

Suffering can look

different in different

circumstances, but the

Bible says if we are

following Christ, if our

hope is in him, there

are going to be times

of difficulty that come

directly because of

that.

I think for a lot of

us, again, it's

strange.

We don't feel like we

suffer for our faith.

We don't necessarily

want to suffer for our

faith.

We hear about it, and

in theory, it's like,

yeah, I guess I could do

that if I had to, but I

don't want to.

Please don't make me do

it, God.

But what's happening

here is Peter is saying

if we're living our lives

as Christians, if we're

living with a true hope

in God, that we're going

to suffer.

And I think if we look at

our lives, most of us

would see that we actually

are willing to suffer for

things that we want to be

great at.

If we're at work, we're

willing to clear out our

evening schedule and

suffer a late night of

work to be great at our

job.

If we're on a sports team

and we're a little bit

injured, we're willing to

push through that injury

and suffer for the sake of

being great at our sport.

If we're parents, a kid

wakes up screaming at 3

a.m., we're willing to

suffer sleep loss for the

sake of being a great

parent.

And because we care so

much about being great at

these things, we don't

think of it as suffering.

We just think of it as

life.

We think of it as

investments.

I'm investing in my future.

I'm investing in my kid's

future.

But anything in life that

we want to be great at,

we're willing to suffer

for.

But I feel like for me and

a lot of people that I

know, suffering for our

faith is something that's

really rare.

And I sometimes wonder

why that is.

Is it because we live in

the world in such a way

that they don't think we

actually have a different

hope?

They see us chasing after

the same things that they

are.

We're investing our lives to

get all the money we can,

all the power we can.

And they look at us and

they say, this person is no

different than I am.

Is it because we maybe

deep down on the inside we're

different, but we're so

concerned about fitting in

that we let the people around

us dictate the way that we

act more than we let Christ

dictate how we act.

And again, I'm not throwing

these questions out there,

asking them just for you.

I'm asking them for me, too,

because this is something that

I struggle with.

Sometimes it feels like life

is so easy, and I have to

ask myself, why is that?

And it's not intended to be a

guilt trip, but Peter's saying

here, if we're living as

Christians, there will be

suffering.

It's not that we go out and

seek it, it's just going to

happen.

And if it's not happening,

there's a valid reason for

questioning, why is that?

But he says, despite the

suffering that we'll endure

as Christians, the hope that

we have in Christ gives us

the strength to endure them,

to endure suffering with hope

and with joy.

That's why he started out

talking about the salvation

that we have and how great it

is, because it's the

foundation that sustains us

through our suffering.

He continues on.

He says,

so that the tested

genuineness of your faith,

more precious than gold

that perishes, though it's

tested by fire, may be found

to result in praise and glory

and honor at the revelation

of Jesus Christ.

If you think about gold, a lot

of times it'll be mixed with

different metals.

And if you're working with the

gold and you want it to be

pure, you take it and you

throw it in the fire.

And the fire melts it so you

can take everything that's not

gold out and be left with

just pure gold.

Peter's saying that when we

suffer as Christians, when we

go through trials as

Christians, it's like God

taking us and throwing us

into that fire.

It's not meant to destroy us.

It's not meant to hurt us.

It's meant to test us and prove

to us what is real.

Maybe we think that we have

this great outstanding faith

and we get into the middle of

a trial and we realize that

we're despairing because the

hope that we thought we had

in Christ was actually hope

in something else that's gone

now.

We can't lean on it anymore.

And when I first moved to

Hong Kong, I had, I thought I

had this hope in Christ, but I

actually had a lot of hope in

the fact that I was just a good

person.

And I just got to Hong Kong and

I realized that my goodness is

not enough.

And there was a time of trial

where I realized I can't rely on

my goodness.

But because I had spent so long

relying on it, I reached a

point where I was like, I don't

know how to not rely on it.

It was God's way of sticking me

into that fire, of testing me,

of taking away everything that

was not the true, pure gold,

true, pure faith and hope in him

and showing me that it wasn't able

to sustain me.

And that's what trials do.

They test us.

They show us where we're falling

short.

And when we endure trials well,

he shows the world around us and

ourselves what is the pure gold,

what is the true hope that's within

us.

He continues on and says that it

will result in praise and glory and

honor at the revelation of Jesus

Christ.

And I think this is a two-fold

thing.

It's one where God and other

Christians see us and they say,

look, you endured well.

Great job.

But also where us and other

Christians look at God and we say,

look, you gave us the strength to

endure well and we praise him.

The picture I get is sort of,

this is really cheesy.

It won't be this cheesy.

But the picture is like in a sports

movie about a little kid's sports

team.

And you know, the little kid runs

down the field as the seconds are

ticking off in the championship

game and he kicks it into the goal

and the game ends and his team wins

and he runs over to the sideline and

the dad's there on the sideline.

He's like, you did it, son.

And the son goes, I couldn't have

done it without you, dad.

And then they run over and they

give each other a hug and

everyone's cheering.

It's like that type of thing where

God looks at us and he says,

great job, you did it.

And we look at God and we say,

we couldn't have done it without

you.

And we, there's, there's this praise

of him saying to us, great job.

And us saying to him, great job.

And everyone around us looking and

saying, what an amazing God.

When we endure our trials well, it

results in praise and glory and

honor and shows others how amazing

our God is.

This means that in the midst of our

trials, we can hold out hope because

it's not meant to destroy us.

It's meant to strengthen us.

It's meant to purify us.

It's meant to draw us closer to God.

Again, the suffering, it'll be real.

It's not going to be easy.

But it'll be worth it.

Because God will give us the strength

to endure.

It's like that expat family.

The difficulties of living in Hong Kong,

if you're from a foreign culture, it can

be difficult at times.

That's real.

But they endure those two or three years

of hardship for the sake of a better

30 to 50 years afterwards.

In the same way, God's calling us to endure

30 to 50 years of hardship for an

eternity that is better afterwards.

And then he says, he goes on back in

the passage, he says that it will result

in the salvation of our souls.

I think growing up in a Christian circle,

it's easy to think about salvation of

our souls as our souls get saved and go

to heaven and our bodies just sort of

die and rot on the ground.

But that's not what Peter's actually

saying here.

If you look at this word soul, it's

actually the core of our being.

And if you look at the story of the

Bible, you see that God has created

this physical world and that God is

all about restoring and redeeming

this physical world.

If you look at the picture that the

Bible gives for our eternal hope as

Christians, it's actually us being

raised back to life just like Jesus

was, having a real physical body,

living in a new earth that God's

creating.

That it's not just us spiritually in

some never-ending church service in

heaven, but it's us in new bodies

living a perfect life on the perfect

earth as God intended it to be from

the beginning.

And he sets this out here as our hope

that when we endure trials well,

that that's what's going to result,

that it's going to be perfect, it's going

to be good, there's going to be an

eternity of amazing goodness with God.

And then at the end, there's this

strange thing about concerning the

salvation, the prophets, and those

next couple verses.

Basically, he's saying, look, the fact

that we have Christ, the fact that we

have this great salvation, it should

encourage us to suffer well.

It should encourage us to suffer with

hope and with joy.

But if that's not enough, look back at

your Old Testament.

Look at the times before Jesus came.

The prophets then, they heard that

there was a Savior coming.

They wanted to know what he was like.

They couldn't.

But they still obeyed.

They still endured difficulties for

Christ or for God.

But now we have Jesus.

We have seen so much more of how good

God is than they ever could have

dreamed of.

We've seen so much more of how

gracious God is than they ever could

have dreamed of.

We understand God in a way that they

never, ever, ever did.

And yet, they were willing to endure

suffering for God.

And if we've seen so much more how

great God is, how much more should we

be willing to endure hard times?

Because we've seen how great and

amazing God is.

We've seen the proof of his love.

We've seen that he sent Jesus.

That Jesus suffered for us.

That Jesus died for us.

To save us.

And that should be our strength and

our motivation.

When suffering gets hard, when trials

come, we should look to Christ.

The one who saved us.

The one who offers us this living hope.

This perfect inheritance.

That's going to save us.

Looking to him is the only way that

we'll actually have strength.

To endure trials when they come.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for today.

We thank you for your love.

And for the way that you work in our lives.

We thank you for the salvation that you give.

And for the fact that it is so good.

That it's good enough to sustain us in hard times.

That it's good enough to give us hope

when suffering comes.

God, we pray that

that as we live our lives,

that we would live lives

that are marked by the fact

that we follow you.

That we wouldn't be concerned about

suffering when it comes,

but that we would be able to hope in you

and trust in you

and follow you through difficult times.

I pray that we'd have

a long-term, eternal perspective.

Knowing that even though it may cost us today

and be uncomfortable today,

that it will be worth it.

God, we love you.

We want to love you more.

In Jesus' name, amen.