Here's Hope

We live in a world that seems to be growing more and more hopeless. Rather than allow this fact to bring us down we should allow it to send us out! We are called and commissioned to share a message of HOPE! The reason hope seems to be in such short supply is that people are looking in all the wrong places. There is no lasting hope in our possessions, our position, our political system, our potential, or our plans. Real hope is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Bible clearly declares that those who do not know Christ as Savior are without hope (Eph. 2:12). In the message on Sunday, I referenced Jean-Paul Sartre. It is reported that as he faced death he sought to resist the feelings of despair that overwhelmed him. He told himself “I know I shall die in hope.” Yet with profound sadness he also realized that “hope needs a foundation.” He was right. 1 Peter 1:3-5 reveals three sure foundations that our hope rests upon.

Our “Heavenly Family” is a firm foundation for our hope! There are saints around us and saints who have gone before us that clearly remind us through their life and words that we can trust in the Lord wholeheartedly. As Peter wrote to the persecuted church, he wrote to those scattered by persecution. His reference to the “scattered” saints reminds us that we are not alone even in our difficult times. He also directed our attention upward to our Heavenly Father. Because of His ABUNDANT MERCY we have hope. Just dwell on that a while. Our salvation and security rest not just in His mercy; but in His “Abundant Mercy.” (1 Peter 1:3) Our hope is further secured in the work of our “our Lord Jesus Christ” He died and rose again so that we may have a sure and secure and steadfast hope. Just writing this makes me want to shout! Praise God my hope has a sure foundation in my heavenly family.

But that is not all! My hope is further supported by the fact that I have a “inheritance… reserved in heaven for” me! This inheritance is Incorruptible, Undefiled and Unfading! God drives home the surety of our heavenly inheritance. It is set aside for me in heaven and it will never suffer loss, it will never diminish in any way, and it will never grow old. I can anchor my hope in His Word and the inheritance He has promised me! Praise God!

Now here is a real bonus; the inheritance is “reserved in heaven” for me AND I am ‘kept” or reserved by the “power of God through faith” for all that He has prepared for me. The more this truth sinks down into our soul the greater our experience of hope, confidence and security as we journey through this life on our way to our heavenly home.

Finally there is a “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5) This reminds me that the completion of my salvation is sure! It is said that salvation has three tenses. “Justification” is a past experience where I was separated from the penalty of sin. “Sanctification” is a present experience where I am being separated from the power of sin. Praise God there is coming a day when all who trust Christ will experience “Glorification”; when we will be separated from the presence of sin. I am looking forward to that coming aspect of my salvation. This truth is also a reason I have great HOPE. No matter how bad, or difficult, or challenging the days may be; I can (and should) have HOPE! Dr. James M. Gray wrote in a song; “Who can mind the journey, when the road leads home?” Praise God we are “strangers” who are passing through on our way home and as we journey we can have great HOPE.

I am so grateful that by God’s abundant mercy and through Christ’s resurrection I have been “Born again to a Living Hope.”

Do you have this hope in your life? You can. As believers we can live and die in hope. Our hope rests upon the sure foundation of our heavenly “family”, our “fortune” reserved for us in heaven, and our “future” culmination of our salvation in in the “last time.”

Living in Hope,
Pastor Mike