Hope for the Future
Speaker: James Barnett
Date: 18th April 2021
Passage: 1 Peter 1:3-9
00:00:00 --> 00:00:07 Hello everyone. Nice to see you. My name is James. Good to be with you today. I'm genuinely
00:00:07 --> 00:00:14 an optimistic person. I find it easier to see the good in situations and to see the good
00:00:14 --> 00:00:21 in people. But as you can imagine, this has been sorely tested over the last year. The
00:00:21 --> 00:00:28 pandemic has been just one of many different crises that have been occurring. Technology
00:00:28 --> 00:00:35 and social media advances have been outstripping our ability to understand their impact on how
00:00:35 --> 00:00:42 people work, let alone their influence more broadly. There are economic uncertainties
00:00:42 --> 00:00:46 where low interest rates are good for those who own a house, but those who are trying
00:00:46 --> 00:00:52 to save money or trying to live off interest, it's very difficult. There's been political
00:00:52 --> 00:00:59 polarization, which is pushing people further apart, and common ground is more and more
00:00:59 --> 00:01:07 difficult to find. There is very little agreement on what it means to move forward. There's very
00:01:07 --> 00:01:13 little agreement on the place we want to move forward to as a society. And we have a hope
00:01:13 --> 00:01:21 that tomorrow will be better. But then we can often get let down when we get there and it's not better.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:28 When we build our hope on external, undependable things, I'm not sure if that's a word,
00:01:28 --> 00:01:34 undependable. I'm going to use it like a word. When we build our hope on external things that we can't
00:01:34 --> 00:01:40 depend on, like a vaccine coming. We build our hope, the vaccine's going to come, it's going to be great,
00:01:40 --> 00:01:46 the rollout starts. Oh, actually don't use this vaccine anymore. Our hopes can be dashed. We can
00:01:46 --> 00:01:53 end up on an emotional roller coaster of our hopes being lifted and dashed and lifted and dashed.
00:01:54 --> 00:02:01 And so how do we get a hope for tomorrow that will actually last? Not just for us as individuals,
00:02:01 --> 00:02:09 but for us as a society. How do we survive when it seems that there isn't much hope for tomorrow?
00:02:10 --> 00:02:18 Today is the last day in our short series looking at the impact of Easter on us, the impact of Jesus'
00:02:19 --> 00:02:24 resurrection on our lives. Last week we saw the impact of the resurrection on our relationships,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:32 and now we see the impact of the resurrection on our hope for the future. And our challenge today
00:02:32 --> 00:02:41 will be for us to see our hope in the future and to put our trust in the God who is in control of our future.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:46 So as we do this, as we have a look at that passage that was read for us as well, let me pray.
00:02:47 --> 00:02:56 Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for who you are, that you are a kind, a good, a generous and loving God.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:06 God, as we sit in a place of a measure of uncertainty and fear, even though much of Australia is open again,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:15 Father, help us to understand the hope that we have in you and not depend upon things that are outside our control, Lord. Amen.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:26 So as we seek to understand what hope is and build our hope, first of all, it would be good to have another definition of hope.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:31 I find hope is one of these words that can just become a bit wishy-washy over time,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:36 but I think a good definition of hope is that it is confident expectation.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:42 So it's not vain guessing, it's not a hope tomorrow, the weather is nice.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:48 No, no, no, it's I've had a look at the weather forecast, I've spoken to the meteorologist from church,
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 and do you know what, I have confident expectation that tomorrow will be,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 I'm not sure, I don't even know what the weather is like tomorrow.
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 So hope is confident expectation.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:06 And it's important as we consider the basis of our hope, our first point this morning, the basis of our hope,
00:04:06 --> 00:04:12 it's important to consider what the basis of our hope is for the culture around us.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 What does hope mean for the people around us?
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 What is hope in the Western worldview?
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 How do we get to where we are right now?
00:04:20 --> 00:04:25 For a long time, people, as people have believed,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:29 that each generation will have a better life than the generation before.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 So economically, we'll be better, we'll have more money,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 socially, we'll be better, we'll be kinder people,
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 we'll have better technology, personally.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:43 And eventually, if you look at two television shows that I used to watch growing up,
00:04:43 --> 00:04:47 we go from being like the Flintstones to, does anybody remember the other version?
00:04:48 --> 00:04:49 The Jetsons.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 So we go from the Stone Age to futuristic technology.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:57 And we might see Flintstones, we've definitely moved away from that.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:58 Jetsons, we're getting to that.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 We still don't have flying cars.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:01 Well, there are some flying cars.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 We don't all have flying cars yet.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 We'll get there.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:08 And so for a long time, we as society have believed in progress.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 There is hope for tomorrow.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 Things will always get better.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:20 But most other cultures throughout history have seen culture and time as cyclical.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 Things go through patterns.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 There is no constant progression.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 Steve touched on this a couple of weeks ago.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 This view of history and the future saw things as rhythmic,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 with an explosive end and then starting again,
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 with rebirth and then evolution and then death and rebirth.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:45 So in Norse mythology, it was called Ragnarok.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:51 In Greek, it was described as paleriginesia for this cycle of rebirth.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:57 Confucianism saw the world as constantly recreating itself through the balances of yin and yang.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:04 And so before Christianity, the idea that history was a linear line that was continually progressing
00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 just did not exist.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:11 For most other cultures, everything was rhythmic and cyclical.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:16 But Christians don't believe in the future as a cycle.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:23 The Bible describes one future destination, which I can't remember his name.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 The person who wasn't Dan helpfully showed us.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:32 A wonderful end point where all pain would end and everything would be put right,
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 something that will last forever.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:35 Heaven.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:41 Christians can have hope in the future, not because it will go through a cycle of change,
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 but because there is a God who is in control who will take us to that end point.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 And so instead of having little hope,
00:06:49 --> 00:06:53 instead of having no hope because the future is just a cycle, nothing really changes,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 Christians have hope because we know the end point.
00:06:57 --> 00:07:02 The end point where we will be with the returned King Jesus.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:08 And so as Christianity grew, it impacted culture around it.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 It impacted the scientists.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 And so scientists continually advanced in their understanding.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 It impacts medicine and technology.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:23 And so that as Christianity grew, this idea of progress grew.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:29 This idea that we were going from where we are now to a glorious future grew into the culture around us.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:38 Eventually, in the 1700s, this idea of progression disconnected from Christianity in the European Enlightenment.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:43 But a lot of these thinkers still kept the idea of progression.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:48 So you take someone like Karl Marx, the communist thinker,
00:07:48 --> 00:07:53 and he saw history moving to more and more justice for more people.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 Taking that idea out of Christianity, things are going to get better for more people.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:03 Charles Darwin, again, saw nature around us continually progressing.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 Things are evolving.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:11 And so as we get to the 1900s, there is this view that society is evolving.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 Things are going to keep getting better.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 And there was wonderful hope.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 The next generation is going to be more evolved.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 They're going to be more advanced.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 It is good for them.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:27 But then as we came into the 1900s, this view took a hit.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 There was this thought that as we continually got more and more knowledge,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 we'd be able to help more people.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 Technology's going to be good.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 There's going to be more food.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 We'll be able to solve poverty.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:42 There is much hope because there is advances in modern medicine and science.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:50 But unfortunately, the Germans, who were considered to be both culturally and scientifically advanced,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:56 they used their knowledge to destroy lives and to dehumanize people.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 We see that in World War II.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:03 And so this secular idea of continual progress starts to fall apart.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:10 We lose this hope that we have that society is just going to keep getting better.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:17 And so now we're in an interesting spot in society, in history,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:25 where maybe for once the future doesn't seem more bright than it did.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 Maybe tomorrow actually doesn't look as attractive.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:32 Maybe the best is behind us.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:37 We sit in a place of cultural depression.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:43 I see advances in technology that actually aren't advances for us as people.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 They seem to actually be taking us backwards as people.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:52 I see the impact on kids and teenagers and the impact on brains and society.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:57 And it seems that the brave new world that we're heading towards isn't actually better.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:06 If hope is confident expectation, do I have confident expectation that the tomorrow that we are heading towards
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 is better than what we have today?
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 So why do I tell you all this?
00:10:12 --> 00:10:17 Why do I just leave you feeling a little depressed about where we're going as a society?
00:10:17 --> 00:10:22 Ultimately, it's because we can't trust humans to be good.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:29 We can't just assume that the more knowledge we gain, the better we'll be as a society and everything will be fine.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 We can't trust humans to do that.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:35 We can't trust humans to choose to do the right thing by other people
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 because we could have solved poverty by now.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 We could have solved racism by now.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 But we as people haven't.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:51 If our hope, our confident expectation can't reliably be found within us or with our society moving forward,
00:10:52 --> 00:10:59 if it's not going to actually get better with the life expectancy and compassion for other people and love,
00:10:59 --> 00:11:04 well, if there's no hope, then let's turn to the Bible.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:10 Let's have a look at that passage that Emma read for us and see the hope that God offers us.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 From 1 Peter 1, verse 3.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:18 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:23 In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope
00:11:23 --> 00:11:27 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:34 Peter outlines a very different kind of hope for us, a 2-year-old hope, but one that is better.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:38 And so the basis for our hope is not that we would get better.
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 Our basis for hope is not that society would solve our problems.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 Our basis for hope is three things.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:50 God's great mercy, the resurrection, and our new birth.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 First of all, God's great mercy.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 Our hope is totally outside us.
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 I love the description from verse 3.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:08 In his great mercy, in God's great mercy, he has given us new hope into a living hope.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 This hope that we have is totally outside of us.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:17 It's not just the natural optimism that I have that things are going to be fine,
00:12:17 --> 00:12:23 but it's because there is a God who is in control, who is choosing to have mercy to us.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 This God has shown his mercy.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:31 And there is a wonderful future ahead for all people who follow Jesus
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 because there is a God who is in control.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 There is somebody who is outside, who is all good.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:41 Much like an unwanted orphan who had no hope of being adopted,
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 God shows his awesome kindness to us.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 And so the basis for our hope is not us.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 It is our God.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 Secondly, our hope comes from the resurrection.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 Our hope for new life comes from Jesus' resurrection,
00:12:58 --> 00:13:02 his physical and bodily resurrection as a historical event.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:07 Without the resurrection of Jesus, there is no hope for us.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 1 Corinthians 15, if you want to go read that later,
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 it's a wonderful reminder that without the resurrection,
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 we are all wasting our time right now here in church.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:24 It would be better to be in bed with a hot coffee and, I don't know, something on TV.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 But because of the resurrection, because of the resurrection,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 we can have hope, and so we're not wasting our time.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:35 And Peter describes this hope wonderfully.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:39 It is not that we just have a vain hope.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 It's not even just confident expectation.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 It is a living hope.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 It's a living hope because Jesus is alive.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 He was raised from the dead.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 He is living right now in heaven.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:55 And so our hope is in someone who is alive.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 And we wait to see him return.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 Thirdly, our new birth.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:08 In the resurrection of Jesus, we see Jesus come back to life.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:12 And in his death on the cross, we die with him.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 And so when he is raised to life, we start a new life.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:21 When we have the Holy Spirit enter us and show us who Jesus is,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 we are born again, born into a new life.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 A new person comes into being.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 And our hope is as sure as Jesus' resurrection.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:37 Jesus didn't just make life after death possible, but he made it sure.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:43 And so the basis for our hope is summed up wonderfully in verse 3.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:50 God, in his kindness, has shown mercy to us through the resurrection of Jesus.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 And we have new birth.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 And the hope we have is not vain or vague.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 It is alive.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 Because Jesus is the hope that is alive.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 And this hope can't die like other hopes in our culture.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 This hope can't get depressed.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 We might be feeling depressed.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 We might be feeling low.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 We might be struggling and looking for work.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 We might be struggling to pay bills.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17 The culture might be getting worse around us.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:22 But our hope for tomorrow is not based on those things.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 Because the hope for tomorrow is outside of us.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 It is objective.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:31 It is totally separate from us because it is the God who works.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 It is God who in his mercy has shown us love.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 Who has brought us to new life.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 Our future is not based on us.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 And I'm incredibly thankful for that.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 I would stuff it up.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 You would stuff it up.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 We would stuff it up as a society.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 Our society can't get things right.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:53 You even look at the vaccine implementation and the COVID response.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:56 Some countries have had a really great response to COVID.
00:15:57 --> 00:16:01 Some countries have been able to lock down and minimize the spread of COVID.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:06 Some countries have had a really great rollout of the vaccine.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 Some countries have not had a great rollout of the vaccine.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:19 And so if our countries can't even get the rollout and response to a pandemic right, how are we supposed to place our hope in governments or society for tomorrow?
00:16:19 --> 00:16:24 I'm really thankful that the hope for the future is not based in those.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 And I'm thankful it's not based in myself.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:33 The basis of our hope in the future is God and his kind mercy to us.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 No one else can be trusted.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:44 Now, can you give an answer to the hope that you have?
00:16:44 --> 00:16:50 If I was going to put you on the spot right now and say, why do you believe in God?
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 You know, you've just walked out of church.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 You're on Fuller's Road and someone comes up to you with a microphone.
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 They keep 1.5 from you.
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 And say, why have you been at church?
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 Why are you wasting your time there?
00:17:02 --> 00:17:05 Can you give an answer to the hope you have?
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 This is something Peter is really keen to do as he sends this letter.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:14 In chapter 3, he wants people to be able to explain the hope they have, give a defense for the hope they have.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:17 And I think verse 3 is a wonderful summary of the gospel.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:22 The hope I have is not based on me.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 It is based on God's mercy to me.
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 And it's all because of the resurrection.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:31 The resurrection is God showing that Jesus really was his son.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:35 It shows that he dealt with my sin and my death on the cross.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:40 And because he is alive, I have a promise that I will be alive and I have a new birth.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:46 Verse 3, if you memorize that and somebody says, why do you go to church?
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 You can just bring out that.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 These three things in verse 3 of 1 Peter 1.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 There is a God who has had mercy.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 I believe in the resurrection.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 And I believe I'm a new person now because of it.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:02 It's a very simple gospel message you can share to know your faith.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:06 So that is the basis for our hope.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 The basis for our hope is God.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:13 Not anything outside of us or a culture outside of us or within us.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:18 And Peter explains the hope that we can have for the future.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19 Have a look with me.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 The second half of verse 3 into verse 4.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:46 To be born again, to have new life in Jesus because of the resurrection means that there's also an inheritance.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 Something that we are waiting for.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:56 It's like money or property that gets assigned to us in someone's will when we follow Jesus as Lord.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 When we have new birth, we get adopted into God's family.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:03 And also, we get an inheritance as being part of God's family.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 And this is a hope.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 This is inheritance that won't spoil.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 It won't fade.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 It won't perish.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:14 My parents have just retired.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 My dad is also an Anglican minister.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:19 And they're moving out of their church house.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 And so they're downsizing.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:26 And it's been like getting an inheritance while my parents are still alive.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 So that's kind of been fun.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 But it's not the really big things.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 It's not the house or the car.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:37 It's the things that aren't incredibly valuable but aren't worth throwing out.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:41 So it's the hundreds of books my dad has on Christian ministry.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:47 And so if you see my little red car, which is just out on the street, my boot is full of books at the moment.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 Because I haven't had time to sort through all of these books.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:54 And there's all these other things that, do you know what?
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 This part of the inheritance has spoiled.
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 They have perished.
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 They have faded.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:05 There's just so many things that are just being thrown out as my parents downsize.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:10 There's so many of the books that dad gives me that were great 40 years ago.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 But there's better versions.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 There's newer things now.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 But the inheritance that God has for us will not spoil.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:21 It will not perish and it will not fail.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25 To be born again is to have the best inheritance.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 Something Dan touched on before.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:31 There's a lot of things we can put our hope in that do perish, spoil, and fade.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:39 But our eternal hope with God in heaven, in relationship with him and in relationship together, in perfection,
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 that cannot fade or fail or perish.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:48 Not only is this inheritance kept for us, but we are kept safe for it too.
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 Verse 5.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:57 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.
00:20:58 --> 00:21:04 Not only do we have an inheritance that is kept safe, but we also are kept safe.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:11 Having a secure inheritance wouldn't be any good if we were let to perish or to fade.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:15 But God has put a shield around us.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 And I really love this language of a shield.
00:21:17 --> 00:21:20 It's something that's taken straight out of the Psalms.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:25 And I can't but help imagine a Roman legion.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:31 You know, I'm not sure if you've seen too many war movies, but I just get this picture of the Roman legion.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 They've all got these giant red shields.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:36 And when there's an attack, they all lock the shields into each other.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 And they form like a turtle.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:41 And they put the shields above them so arrows can't get in.
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43 And it's just an impenetrable force.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:50 And I think I just see this picture of God shielding us by his power as a wonderful reminder that God is keeping us.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 You know, he's got the shield.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 He's grabbed us by the collar.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 And he is dragging us to him.
00:21:55 --> 00:21:58 Maybe that's just the picture of me as I follow him.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:04 But God is keeping us safe until we see the salvation we are waiting for revealed.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:14 I think it's another wonderful reminder, again, that our hope, our confident expectation for the future is not based upon us.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 It is based upon God.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:20 It is only Jesus as our Savior who will take us to that finish line.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 And we are kept shielded by our faith.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27 Our faith is a gift that God gives to us.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:32 But our faith is something that we've also been speaking a lot about as a church.
00:22:32 --> 00:22:40 That our key objective as a church for the next five years is for us to be growing, trusting in God more and more each day.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 Growing our faith.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:46 Placing our confident expectations of tomorrow safe into his hands.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:54 And what happens for us is that as I place my hopes for tomorrow, not in the things that fade,
00:22:56 --> 00:23:01 but as I place my hope for tomorrow into God's hands and I see how trustworthy he is,
00:23:01 --> 00:23:06 my faith and my trust in him grows more and more each day.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:13 One of the areas of hope that I've struggled in in recent times is how I view the future.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:18 I'm someone that loves to think about what is coming and to plan for it,
00:23:18 --> 00:23:23 and I find it much harder to be a person who is in the moment thinking about the day.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:29 And so when it comes to thinking about the future, a large part of that is the house that I live in.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:35 And at the moment, it's impossible for me to buy a house in Chatswood.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:39 You know, you look at recent house prices and they just keep going up.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:46 And I have a habit of looking at areas and looking where I could buy a house.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:54 And what I end up doing is placing my hope for tomorrow in bricks and mortar instead of in Jesus.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:59 Thinking, you know what, if I had a house that I could live in, I would be secure.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 I would be safe.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 I had a roof over my head.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 I'd be able to take care of my family and that would be good.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 And that is good.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 Those things are good.
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 It is good to plan for the future.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:13 But there's also an idolizing of it.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:19 And this is what I was doing, thinking that if I had a house, I would be secure for the future.
00:24:21 --> 00:24:26 The basis for our hope is the new birth we have because of the resurrection of Jesus
00:24:26 --> 00:24:29 that we have seen because of God's good mercy to us.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:32 This hope is kept secure.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:35 It is shielded by God and he keeps us shielded too.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 And so what does this mean for us now?
00:24:39 --> 00:24:42 Thirdly this morning, what is the impact of hope now for us?
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 Verse 6.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:48 In all this, you greatly rejoiced.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:54 Though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
00:24:54 --> 00:25:00 The living hope that we have because of the resurrection brings joy to us now.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 And that's our experience.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:07 Our experience is to have joy even in trials.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:10 And this church that Peter was writing to was facing a lot of trials.
00:25:11 --> 00:25:16 But the hope we have points beyond the difficult days, beyond the trials.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:20 Those trials and troubles will only last a little while.
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23 It may be just a lifetime.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 But our hope extends much further.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 Our hope and faith is actually strengthened by trials.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:34 Peter describes it here like gold being refined in a fire.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:40 Difficult days should not surprise us or cause us to doubt God's goodness.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 But they are sent to strengthen us.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:49 Recently, I was speaking with someone who was struggling with doubts about God's goodness.
00:25:50 --> 00:25:53 Their family was going through a particularly difficult season.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:57 And this person wanted to know, where is God?
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 I've been praying to him.
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 I've asked him for my help.
00:26:00 --> 00:26:05 Why hasn't he answered my prayer and taken away this season of suffering?
00:26:07 --> 00:26:10 And I encourage them that God has answered their prayer.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:14 He may not have answered it in the way that they wanted, though.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:17 Because God does allow trials to come.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:23 And they function like fire to perfect us, to make us like God.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 Making us reassess the things of this world.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 What am I hoping in?
00:26:27 --> 00:26:32 Am I hoping in things that will not last, like a house which can easily be knocked over?
00:26:32 --> 00:26:38 Or am I putting my hope, my confident expectation in tomorrow in God?
00:26:39 --> 00:26:42 And then we will shine like gold to his praise.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:49 Our lives will always have trials and joys, sorrow and good times.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:57 When we think everything is going okay, times of grief come in like an uninvited guest.
00:26:57 --> 00:27:01 And it makes joy far more complex.
00:27:02 --> 00:27:05 Because the days are both full of joy and of grief.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:12 To be a Christian full of hope does not mean that we pretend that we don't grieve.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:18 God does not offer us a perfect life this side of Jesus' return.
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 God promises difficult days.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:26 But it's important to remember that we don't just have happy days and we don't just have sad days.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:33 If we think we are having a really happy day, then we haven't seen the news.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:36 And we haven't seen what is going on in the world around us.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:43 And if we think the day is terrible and it sucks, then we aren't living remembering how good God has been to us.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:53 One of my children expresses themselves in, I was going to say a bipolar way, but that's not quite right.
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 In words of either spectrum.
00:27:56 --> 00:28:01 For them, it's either the very best dinner or the worst dinner.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 There's not much in between.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:07 It's either a great day or it's the worst day of my life.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:13 I'm not tempted on the good days or the good meals to say, actually, it's not that good a day.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 It's actually not good a meal.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 It's not that good a meal.
00:28:15 --> 00:28:18 You know, the KFC you're eating is actually not good for you.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 Stop enjoying it so much.
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22 On the good days, I'm not tempted to bring them down a peg.
00:28:23 --> 00:28:28 But on the bad days, on the worst day of my life, on the it's the worst meal I've ever had,
00:28:29 --> 00:28:32 there's always a good reason to be rejoicing.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 There's always a reason to be rejoicing.
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 First of all, you've got food.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:38 You know, you've got a roof up.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 You're warm.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 You've got a God who loves you.
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 You've got a family who loves you.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 Every day is a day to grieve.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 And every day is a day to be joyful.
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51 Because every day we have reasons for both.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:57 But when our hope is not fixed on what God has in store for us,
00:28:57 --> 00:29:00 we can lean to just grieve.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:03 Or we can base our joy on things that do not last.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:13 The living hope we have in Jesus because of the resurrection enables us to put our hope in the future despite difficult days.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:18 There's an author, a secular author.
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 His name is Mark Manchin.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 He wrote a book about hope.
00:29:22 --> 00:29:26 It's called Everything is Bleep.
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 I won't tell you the title.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 It's inappropriate.
00:29:29 --> 00:29:31 But the author is deliberately provocative.
00:29:32 --> 00:29:35 And he writes about hope from a secular perspective.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:39 And he concludes writing about the perspective of nihilism.
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 That nothing matters.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 That the world is pointless.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 And he writes to conclude his book.
00:29:45 --> 00:29:52 That at the end of time, perhaps then, we will not only realize but fully embrace the uncomfortable truth.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 That we imagined our own importance.
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 We invented our purpose.
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 And we were and still are nothing.
00:29:58 --> 00:30:01 All along, we were nothing.
00:30:02 --> 00:30:08 And maybe then, only then, will the eternal cycle of hope and destruction come to an end.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:12 Or, and that's where he leaves the book.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:16 Because without God, this is the logical conclusion.
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 There is no hope.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:20 There is no meaning.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 Everything we do is a waste of time.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 Society can't fix itself.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:27 I may as well stay at home and eat a bag of Doritos and pizza.
00:30:27 --> 00:30:34 But the basis for our hope is not from society.
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 It is not from within.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:39 Our basis for hope is the God who has given us a purpose.
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41 Who values us.
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 Who has shown that we are not just nothing.
00:30:43 --> 00:30:46 But we are loved, precious children of his.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:51 Made his children by the resurrection of Jesus.
00:30:51 --> 00:30:55 And today, we can rejoice even when we are grieving.
00:30:55 --> 00:30:59 Because our God has mercy on us and he loves us.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 Let me pray.
00:31:03 --> 00:31:05 Heavenly Father.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:10 Lord, you are truly wonderful.
00:31:11 --> 00:31:17 Lord, we can be distracted by the things around us.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:22 By the things that we think will give us joy and hope.
00:31:22 --> 00:31:25 But Lord, they do not last.
00:31:26 --> 00:31:33 Lord, only you last and only you offer a true living hope that we can depend upon.
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 Heavenly Father, would you help us?
00:31:36 --> 00:31:43 Would you help us to review the things that we trust in, that don't work, that don't last?
00:31:43 --> 00:31:51 Help us to put our trust and our hope, our confident expectation in tomorrow firmly in your hands.
00:31:51 --> 00:31:55 And Lord, would you help us to rejoice because of that?
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 We ask this in your son's name.
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 Amen.