"The Basis of Hope"

Morning. Our bible reading is taken from the first letter of Peter chapter 1 verses 3 to 9. And if you'd like to follow it in our future, bibles. It's on page 1217. 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. And into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 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. In all this, you greatly rejoice. Though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

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. 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 results of your faith, the salvation of your souls. This is the word of the lord. Racking the place already.

And Robin was in the habit of saying this is the word of the lord, and thanks Peter. Well, it is the word of the lord. Maybe an anglican way of doing things after the reading, but it's still true. It is the word of the lord, and we can thank god for it. Just before, I'll start preaching just to say, it is great.

You're here. Do stick around afterwards. We're having, we're gonna do photos after as well, so it would do a sort of big group photo, which will funds. So if you're happy to be involved in that, that would be great. But stick around anyway, even if you don't wanna be in the photo, because we can have lunch afterwards, and people have brought food.

And, so, even if you didn't bring food, please stay anyway. I'm sure there'll be enough. They will. We, you just might each have a bit less. But that's fine.

So stick around, and there'll be food, as well. Alright? Now, please keep the passage open in front of you. So if you can find a Bible, grab it and turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. So page 1 2 1 7, and let me pray for us.

Heavenly father, it is a great joy, a great privilege to open up your word. And we pray please now and every week as we open your word. We would be ready to listen to you, ready to pay attention to your word, what you are speaking to us, and that you would give us humble hearts, ready to respond and to obey. Father, please help us now. Help us to be attentive to you and your word.

Our man. Well, I said at the start of the service, that we're called Hopechurch because Hope is, a key part of the Christian message. The Christianity is, has a message of hope. Now, people use the word hope in all sorts of different ways. We probably use it in different ways.

We have hopes for all sorts of things. If you have children, you have hopes for them. Hopes for your children, maybe your grandchildren, if you have grandchildren, maybe that they will do well at school, maybe that they will be academic geniuses, maybe that they will be incredible at sport. Maybe they'll be amazing at drama or dance. Maybe some of these hopes are realistic.

Maybe some are not so realistic. Maybe some of them are unhealthy in that you're actually wanting to live out your dreams through your children. We might have hopes for ourselves. Some here, maybe the hope is for medical treatment that will be successful. Others that you'll get a particular job that you're wanting.

We might hope for a better work, life balance. There are all kinds of hopes we might have. Some more exciting that you'll go on, the, the holiday of that you've been dreaming of for many years, or that you'll get the car that you always wanted or the house. That you've dreamed of. Hope is the prospect of something good in the future, isn't it?

That there's something ahead to look forward to. And our hopes range from the trivial that it won't rain as we're setting up today. I don't think it did rain as as you were saying. I mean, it was windy, but it wasn't rainy. It was funny.

Actually, as we came in. It was lovely seeing the guys putting trying to put the banners up. In amidst the wind, battling the wind to get the banners on the fence. They did a great job. Maybe you were hoping that that wouldn't be the case, while some of our hopes are trivial and some are very significant.

In some parts of the world, they're hoping that war will end. But we need hope as humans. We need hope. We know if someone loses hope, they plummet into despair. It's horrible to see when someone has lost all hope.

And we can't live without hope. Victor Fronckle, the Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist wrote about those in the Nazi concentration camps that those who lost hope developed a kind of fatalism that led to death. He called this an existential vacuum and said that hope was a life or death choice. We need hope It is the oxygen for our souls. Why are we called hope church?

Because Christianity holds out a very different kind of hope to the kind of hope that the world has. It's far better than the world's hope. And it is the hope that our souls desperately need. It's more solid and more wonderful. Than any other hope.

And so for the first 3 weeks of hope church, we're gonna look at hope. What does the Bible say about hope? And in particular, we're gonna focus in on those verses in 1 peter chapter 1, and we're gonna spend 3 weeks just on that paragraph versus 3 to 9. Now, if you're not a Christian this morning, I want to say it's great that you're here. And I want you to know that these sermons are for you too.

There can be a view that people have of church. I've had it before. Maybe you've had it before, if you've invited people to church. Where you invite people and you say, you know, do come along. It'd be great to have you here, and they then say, oh, that's alright.

I'm not religious. You go, well, Actually, church isn't just for the religious. It's not just for the Christian. We want those who aren't Christians to be here, to hear about this hope, to engage with it, and to take hold of it. I'd love you if you're not yet a Christian, maybe after the service, to talk to me and raise objections, questions that you've got, to find out more, because what we'd love is for you to discover and take hold of this hope for yourself.

Now, like I say, we're gonna look at 1 Peter chapter 1. It's a great place for us to look because the apostle Peter who's 1 of Jesus' closest friends, explains about the hope that we have. And he does so to Christians who are suffering. If you've got 1 Peter open in front of you, just turn over the page. Maybe you've got it on your device.

Turn over to 1 peter chapter 4 verse 12. And you'll see the situation that they were in. 1 peter 4 verse 12 says, dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on to on you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. Peter's aware of that. They are going through a fiery ordeal.

These are Christians who are suffering, who are struggling. This is as it were Peter's halftime talk. To the team who are getting pummeled. They are struggling. They are suffering.

And what does he say to them? How does he begin his letter? Well, that's the paragraph we're looking at. So turn back to chapter 1. He begins, praise be to the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ.

In his great mercy, he's given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. First thing he talks to them about, these suffering Christians is hope. And the first thing I want you to spot from what he says is it is a living hope, which says something about the content of the hope. It is a living hope. Thank you.

In other words, it is hope about life, eternal life. Life forever It is a living hope as opposed to a dead hope. And a dead hope is 1 that ends at death. Many think that way. Many think that this life is life up until you die, then you die, and that's it.

And in Peter's day, there were people who thought the same. Some of the Greek philosophers, 1 of them wrote, though the sun can set and rise again. Once our brief light sets, there is, but 1 unending night to be slept through, but he wasn't invited to many parties. He just says there's life, and then there's night, and that's it. That's all you gotta look forward to.

And many today say something similar. Richard Dorkins, the atheist said, I fear the process of dying, but once you're dead, you know nothing. That's what he thought. That's a dead hope. There's nothing beyond.

And most and, you know, without wanting to be too depressing, I mean, it's fairly depressing so far, isn't it? But without wanting to be too depressing, most of our hopes, most of the hopes around us are in some sense, dead hopes. We may hope for a happy life and successful career, but in the end, it ends with, well, death. Death brings an end to them. But Peter says, if you're a Christian, you have a living hope The hope of life, 1 that goes beyond death, to life forever.

This is the hope to trump all hopes. It is a living hope And so over the coming weeks, we're gonna see 3 things about this living hope. This week, we're gonna look at the basis for the hope. Next week, the glorious future hope. And third week, how hope transforms the here and now.

So do you see we're going the basis of the hope, then the future that we look forward to, and then what difference it makes to us here and now today. K? So today, the basis of the hope. And we're gonna see 2 things. We're just gonna focus in on verse 3, and we're gonna see 2 things that provide a solid basis for this living hope.

First of all, it is based on a historical event. On a historical event verse 3, praise be to the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ in his great mercy, He's given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is through the resurrection of Jesus. Peter points his readers back and says, if you want the basis for this living hope, it is a historical event that actually happened. Jesus rising from the dead.

That is the basis of your hope. In other words, that Jesus actually died was nailed to a cross, left to die. He died. His body taken down from the cross and put in the tomb wrapped in burial clothes. Placed in the tomb and left there dead and buried.

And then on the first Easter Sunday, the women who knew Jesus went to the tomb, and they went with spices to anoint the body, to put on the body. What were they expecting? They were just expecting that Jesus' body would be there? That he they would be able to anoint the body to preserve it. That's what they were expecting, but they had the shock of their lives.

Because when they arrived, they found the stone was rolled away. And they found there was nobody in the tomb and were told that Jesus had risen to life And sure enough, people met the risen Jesus. Many met the risen Jesus. Over 500 people we're told met the risen Jesus. 1 of them, was Peter himself, who wrote this letter.

It's interesting a little later on. Peter says in verse 8, Robin read it for us, though you have not seen him, you love him. That's what he's saying to You you people I'm writing to, you Christians I'm writing to, you haven't met the risen Jesus. You haven't seen him, but Peter had. He'd seen the risen Jesus met him.

He could say, yeah, I saw him. I was there. And Peter says that event, Jesus risen from the dead is the basis of your hope. How does that help you and me? How does Jesus risen from the dead help you and me?

The apostle Paul, 1 of the other apostles, explains this in 1 of his letters. He states Jesus is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Just as a a fruit tree, if you've got a fruit tree in your garden, if you have a garden and you've got a fruit tree, you might get that first fruit that you pick from the tree. What's that? That's the promise that there will be more.

Paul says in 1 of his letters, Jesus is the first fruit. In other words, he's risen from the dead. And so those who put their trust in him will also rise. He's the first fruit, but there will be many more. Those who put their trust in Jesus, his resurrection means that we too can be raised.

So Peter says here, the basis of the Christian hope is a historical event. Now, the fact that it's based on a historical event is in stark contrast to the hope many have. Many who are not Christians. There are, as we've said, those with no hope or a dead hope. But there are also many who have hope of life beyond death, but what's it based on?

I've taken quite a few funerals. And, it's amazing how many times people will talk about the person who's died, assuming that they are alive, that they still exist, that and often it's that they're looking down on us now. Sometimes, it it can be a bit strange. They gathered outside after a funeral. Sometimes the, you know, the clouds part and the sun breaks through.

And people say, that's Bob. Really? He didn't achieve much in life, but yet now he has the power over the weather. That's Bob or even had it once with a a robin that came down. It was nearby and someone said, oh, yeah.

That's whoever it was. Really? What's that hope? I mean, it's interesting. We we want to have hope.

Don't we? People want to have hope. But what's that based on? It's based on nothing, really, isn't it? Wishful thinking.

It's based on wishful thinking, whereas the hope that we have in Christianity is a solid hope, a real hope because it is based on a historical event Jesus's death and resurrection. And therefore, if you're under Christian, yes, can I encourage you to investigate the historical event? Look into Jesus's death and resurrection? I want to encourage you to read read 1 of the gospels, Matthew, Mark Luke, or John, in the Bible, look them up in the contents page, and, and read them because they outline, they tell us what happened with Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. If you're a Christian, we need to be reminded that our hope is based on this historical event, because it's normal at times to be a bit wobbly on this hope.

We can struggle at times, can we? Is there times we go, is it real? Have we really got life beyond death? I mean, that, is it just, is that just a bit pie in the sky when you die kind of? Is that just wishful thinking?

No, it's not. Because it's based on something in the past, what Jesus has done, his death and resurrection. And because it's based on that, we can have confidence. That's the first basis for this hope from 1 peter 1 verse 3. Second, the second basis for the hope.

Alright. It's earlier in verse 3. Have a look again. He says, 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. He says, it's in according to god's mercy. There you go. What does it mean that it is in his great mercy? Well, it must mean if we have this hope, it is not because of what we have done.

The fact that it is based on god's mercy, must mean it is not to do with you and me deserving it. Yeah? It's not on the basis of you achieving it. Now, many of our hopes in this life are based on our achievements. The world tells us you and I can have the fulfilled life.

But only if you go out and get it. Only if you make it happen. I I've used this illustration before. Forgive me if I've used it. I think I might have even used it at Cornerstone before.

I've I've I've only preached at Cornerstone a couple of times. And if I've used this illustration there and now using it here, I mean, it it's not looking good for you for the future, is it really? But it it works quite well as an illustration. So, so I'm gonna go with it. At schools, primary schools, when children get to the end of, year 6, so they're leaving primary school.

Normally have a big assembly. I'm sure they do it here as well. You have a big assembly and the children up the front, and there's lots of tears because they're finishing primary school, and there's lots of meaningful songs that are sung. And 1 that was sung when 1 of our children finished year 6 was the song believe, which has the lyrics. I can do anything at all.

I can climb the highest mountain. I can feel the ocean calling wild and free. I can be anything I want with this hope to drive me onwards if I can just believe in me. I can sense you're loving it. You wanna sing it?

No. No. That's not singing. What's the hope? The hope I mean, it's ridiculous.

I love that. I can hear the ocean calling while I'm from here. I can't hear the ocean at all. Anyway, what's the hope? The hope is that you can do anything you want.

That you can be anything you want. That's what the world tells children. You know, be anything you want, do whatever you want. I mean, the irony is over the other side of the room, you've got the parents sitting there who all of whom are demonstrations of you can't be all that you wanna be. Mean, they, they've got good jobs, but they're not the ideal jobs they wanted at the end of year 6, are they, of primary school.

But what's that telling the children is saying, you can be whatever you want. Do whatever you want. As long as you achieve it, 1 of the lines later on in the song says, whatever it takes, I'll make it happen. The hope is be anything, do anything, and the basis is you've gotta do it. And the reality is most of the world religions, yes, they hold out a hope of life and of life beyond this life, but you've gotta make it happen.

You've gotta make it Good. You've got to achieve whatever it is, the 5 pillars of Islam or the eightfold path. You've got to do it. And if you do it, well, even then you're not gonna know, you're not gonna know in this life whether you've done enough. You have to achieve it, but thankfully, that is not the basis of the hope of the heart of Christianity, which is not to do with your merit, but god's mercy.

And mercy implies not only that we don't deserve it, but that we deserve the opposite. Mercy means we deserve god's anger, god's punishment, But that he doesn't give us what we deserve, but gives us good things that we don't deserve. And that is the consistent teaching of the Bible. We don't deserve the good things that god gives. We cannot earn his favor.

The living hope is not for those who've been especially good, not for the deserving, not for the religious, but rather the Bible confronts us with the truth that none of us. Deserve this hope. We've all turned away, deserving not god's favor, but his rejection. And therefore, for any to receive this hope, this living hope relies on an act of god's mercy. See, Christianity is different from the other major religions.

And Jesus is different from the leaders of the other world religions. He doesn't say to us, here are the rules. Obey them and you get life. And he doesn't just offer himself as an example for us to follow to say, be like me, then you get life. Rather, he comes as our rescuer.

For us to receive mercy required Jesus going to the cross. He had to pay the price we owe for our rejection of god. And because he did that in our place, we can be shown mercy. And in his mercy, He gives new birth into this living hope. Now there's more that could be said about the new birth, but notice it is god's work.

He gives the new birth into the living hope. It's not that everyone has this living hope. You need to be born again into it. Now, how does that new birth happen? If you still got 1 peter 1 in front of you, just turn and look at verse 23 of chapter 1.

Says for you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of god. How does god bring about this new birth? How do how can you be born again into this hope? Well, it's through the living and enduring word of god. In other words, you need to understand the message, respond to it, take hold of it.

And as you do that, that is god being at work in you, bringing this new birth. 3 people hearing and understanding and putting their trust in god's word. And god does that for people by his mercy. So the basis of this living hope, the hope at the center of Christianity is 2 things that we've seen. A historical event, and god's mercy, a historical event not wishful thinking, and god's mercy, not our achievement.

And therefore, I want you just to take to take a step back as it were and just see how solid this basis is for the hope that we have, for this living hope. Christians use the word hope. The Bible uses the word hope in a way to the way most people do. Mostly when people speak about hope, there is uncertainty. I hope it won't rain, but it might.

I hope lunch is soon, but it might not be. But with this basis, This historical event and god's mercy, the Christian can have what is what we call a certain hope. We can be sure that we have it. Now you might, some might say that's arrogant or deluded to think you've got this hope. But it isn't because of the basis.

It's based on a historical event, so it isn't deluded. It isn't a delusion. And it's based on god's mercy, not my merit, so it's not arrogant. And therefore, if you're a Christian, you can join in with Peter as he prays his God. That's what he says, isn't it?

Praise be to the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ. That's where he begins. Praise God that we've got this hope. And that's what we can say too. Praise God.

We have this living hope. The basis, Jesus' resurrection, and god's mercy. Praise God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this living hope based on Jesus' resurrection and your mercy.

Move us, we pray, move our hearts to praise you. For those who know this hope, who've got this hope, would we praise you from our hearts? And for those who don't father, please would you help them in your mercy, bring them to Jesus, to understand the message, to understand your words, to receive it, and to come into this glorious living hope.