Your Future is Bright
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Introduction
Introduction
A man had A CHECKUP and then went in to see his doctor to get the results. The doctor said he better sit down – that he had bad news and worse news for him. Then the Doctor asked the man, “Which do you want to hear first?” The man was a bit puzzled and said he'd rather hear the bad news first. The doctor said, "The bad news is that you have only 24 hours to live." When he heard that, the man jumped up, totally shocked. He paced back and forth and said, "24 hours to live? I can't possibly get my affairs in order that quickly. I can't believe this! What could be possibly be worse news than this?" The doctor said, "The worse news is that I was supposed to tell you this yesterday, but I forgot."
“Human beings can live for forty days without food, four days without water, and four minutes without air. But we cannot live for four seconds without hope.”
My desire today is to be reminded that when you are in Christ, you have a LIVING HOPE and Your Future is Bright!
My desire today is to be reminded that when you are in Christ, you have a LIVING HOPE and Your Future is Bright!
We often talk about hope in a type of wishful sense: "I hope you have a nice day." "Hope you have a relaxing vacation." "I hope I get the job." "I hope she says yes." "I hope I get the promotion." "I hope I don't get sick."
The word hope in English often conveys doubt.
The Bible has quite a lot to say about hope. Biblical hope has as its foundation faith in Jesus Christ.
To lose one’s hope is perhaps the most tragic thing that can ever happen in life.
The Letters of James and Peter The Great Inheritance (1 Peter 1:1–2)
IT happens again and again in the New Testament that the true greatness of a passage lies not only on the surface and in what is actually said, but in the ideas and the convictions which lie behind it. That is particularly so here.
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word is batah and it has the meaning of confidence, security, and being without care; therefore, the concept of doubt is not part of this word.
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,
In most instances in the New Testament, the word hope is the Greek elpizo. Again, there is no doubt attached to this word.
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
(Remarks on Peter from David Guzik’s commentary)
Peter’s name is mentioned in the gospels more than anyone except the name of Jesus. No one speaks in the gospels as often as Peter did, and Jesus spoke more to Peter than to any other individual.
This powerful theological concept of Sanctification (Greek hagiasmos) means to make holy, to consecrate and to separate from the ungodly patterns and practices of the world. It involves being set apart from sin so as to have intimate companionship with God and serve Him effectively. (The Fire Bible)
Jesus rebuked Peter more than any other disciple.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 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. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come 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 Christ is revealed. 8 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, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Peter was the only disciple who dared to rebuke Jesus.
Peter confessed Jesus more boldly and accurately than any other disciple.
Peter denied Jesus more forcefully and publicly than any other disciple.
Jesus praised Peter more than any other disciple.
Jesus addressed Peter as Satan alone among the disciples.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 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.
10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
“Never perish, spoil or fade”
Holman New Testament Commentary: I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude B. Hope for the Disenfranchised (vv. 3–12)
These three verbal adjectives indicate that the inheritance is untouched by death, unstained by evil, and unimpaired by time. Our inheritance is death-proof, sin-proof, and time-proof.
“Kept in heaven (and) shielded by God’s power” - This Greek verb is a military term; “God’s power is the garrison in which we find out security” (Hiebert)
It can be put this way:
1 Peter 1. Thanks to the Father for His Work of Salvation (3–5)
We cannot experience this inheritance unless we are born again. Unregenerate man does not have the capacity to enjoy this inheritance. It would be like rewarding a blind man by showing him the most beautiful sunset or taking him to an art museum.
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come 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 Christ is revealed.
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 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. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come 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 Christ is revealed. 8 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, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
1 Peter 1.
8 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, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1.
“all kinds of trials or various trials” literally means ‘many colored’ and was used to describe the skin of a leopard. All kinds of trials literally means “varied” or “diversified” trials.
I don’t know if we can truly identify with what Peter was most likely referring to.
Holman New Testament Commentary: I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude B. Hope for the Disenfranchised (vv. 3–12)
This takes on a depth of meaning against the background of the ghastly persecution led by the Roman emperor Nero. In that persecution, Christians were wrapped in freshly slaughtered animal skins and fed to dogs and wild animals. They were dipped in pitch or tar and set on fire as torches to light Nero’s gardens at night. This persecution was the first of nine that took place under the Roman Empire during the next 250 years. Peter himself very likely died during this first persecution.
All of this sheds some light on the expression Peter used to describe these varied trials: a little while. What he was saying is that our suffering here is brief in light of our inheritance that lasts for eternity. Regardless of how long our trials last, that length of time is nothing in light of eternity!
1 Peter 2. The Purpose of Trials for Those Who Are Saved (6–9)
Our faith isn’t tested because God doesn’t know how much or what kind of faith we have. It is tested because we often are ignorant of how much or what kind of faith we have. God’s purpose in testing is to display the enduring quality of our faith.
God has purpose in testing our faith
Faith is tested to show that it is sincere faith
Faith is tested to show the strength of faith
Faith is tested to purify it, to burn away the impurities from our faith
Peter cemented his point with the illustration of a goldsmith. To form a useful object, raw gold must be cast into a mold. For that to occur, the solid ore must be melted, requiring a temperature of 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit. When the gold is melted, the impurities rise to the surface, where they are skimmed off or burned off. A goldsmith knows the gold is ready to cast when the liquid gold becomes mirror like and he can see his face reflected in the surface.
Holman New Testament Commentary: I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude B. Hope for the Disenfranchised (vv. 3–12)
Warren Wiersbe reminds us, “The trials of life test our faith to prove its sincerity. A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted. A person who abandons his/her faith when the going gets tough is only proving that he/she really had no faith at all”
Hope itself is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. -- Spurgeon
Hope itself is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. -- C.H. Spurgeon
Biblical hope is a reality and not a feeling. Biblical hope carries no doubt. Biblical hope is a sure foundation upon which we base our lives, believing that God always keeps His promises.
4 Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
“To lose one’s hope is perhaps the most tragic thing that can ever happen in life.”
(Invite Worship team and prayer team forward)
Hope Brings Confidence
Hope Brings Confidence
3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future, it expects it to happen
Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future, it expects it to happen
Hope Brings Strength
Hope Brings Strength
31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Hope Brings The Goodness of God
Hope Brings The Goodness of God
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Invite Worship team and prayer team forward)
This is my prayer for you today:
This is my prayer for you today:
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Extra
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
To lose one’s hope is perhaps the most tragic thing that can ever happen in life.
Richard Sibbes, one of the great old Puritan preachers of Cambridge who died in 1635, wrote a whole book (175 pages) on . He was called “the sweet dropper” because of how much confidence and joy his sermons caused. He called his book The Soul’s Conflict with Itself, because in that is exactly what you have, the soul arguing with itself, preaching to itself. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!”
4 Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!