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 result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9 NIV)
There’s something that we all need every day: Hope. To know that today is leading to something better tomorrow. That’s hope! No matter what the present is like, you can look forward to the future. That’s hope. Do you think people need that? Yes! Do you need that? You think about politics or the state of the country and you feel… hopeless. You have another argument with that person, the same argument you’ve had over and over again, and you feel… hopeless. You’ve done everything the doctors say, and you still hurt. So you feel… hopeless. You can’t undo the past. Every decision you make seems like the wrong one, so you feel… hopeless. Need hope?
Me too. This past week, Emily and I got to go to a retreat in San Antonio for pastors celebrating anniversaries in the ministry. It was really nice. But you know how it goes when you see people you haven’t seen for years? You say, “How’s it going?” And they say, “Good. How are you?” “We’re good.” It’s all always good! But as you spend time together, somebody finally admits, “Actually, it’s not all good. Actually, life has been really hard. Actually, we’re going through some really tough times. We really need some encouragement.” And you nod and say, “Me too.” It doesn’t matter if you’re the pastor or if you’re here for the first time today, we all need hope!
So listen to this: “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.” Did you catch it? God has given you something: Hope! And not just any hope. A “living hope.” A hope that doesn’t die. A hope that doesn’t ever get proven false. A hope that never fails. A hope that never disappoints. Doesn’t that sound good? There is a “living hope”!
Hope starts with this: “In his great mercy.” There are two words in the Bible that go together like salt and pepper. “Grace” and “mercy.” Grace is God’s undeserved love for sinners. Grace is getting good that you don’t deserve. So what’s mercy? Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. What do we deserve from God? Bad stuff. Punishment for our sins. That’s why we feel guilty. But do you know what God in his great mercy does? He doesn’t give us what we deserve. Jesus took all our sins with him to the cross. You are forgiven in Jesus! God doesn’t give you what you deserve. He gives you mercy because of Jesus. Know what that means? There is hope.
“In his great mercy he has given us new birth…” In your hopeless moments, do you ever wish you could start over? Have a second chance? That’s exactly what God in his mercy offers us: New birth. The rest of the Bible is very clear about where this new birth comes from: Baptism. In baptism, we’re born again. Our sins are washed away. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live a new life for Christ. Your baptism means that every single day is a fresh start. A new life. The old has gone. The new has come. Every single day that you wake up, you are loved and cherished as a child of God. God has given us new birth. Know what that means? There is hope.
That hope is all centered on one thing: “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Where does this “living hope” come from? The resurrection of Jesus. Easter is not meant to be one day. It’s meant to change everything. We follow a Savior who lives. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! There was a famous saying in ancient Rome: “I was not. I was. I am not. Who cares?” That’s what people would put on their tombstones. Instead of “Rest in peace,” tombstones said, “I was not. I was. I am not. Who cares?” How does that sound? Hopeless! Jesus is different. Jesus rose. So you will rise. I will rise. Know what that means? There is hope. Even in the face of death. There is hope!
Because you have an inheritance in heaven. “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 life isn’t all there is. If it seems like there should be something more than what you see, there is! If life leaves you feeling empty, it’s because there’s more! You have an inheritance in heaven that can never perish. That means it’s death-proof. It can never spoil. That means it’s sin-proof. It can never fade. That means it’s time-proof. It’s guarded by God in heaven for you. Know what that means? There is hope. A “living hope.”
So why do we so often feel so hopeless? I think you know why. Because our eyes aren’t focused on Jesus. Our hearts don’t treasure Jesus. Our minds are so caught up with all this. Every day our three big enemies—sin, death, and the devil—cloud our hope like the clouds cover the sun. But the hope is there. It never changes. It never fails. Jesus Christ gives hope to you and me. Today is leading to something better tomorrow. There’s hope! No matter what the present is like, you can look forward to the future. There’s hope! A living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Hope is a powerful thing! In San Antonio, we saw the Alamo. At the Alamo, 200 brave Texans refused to surrender. They fought to the death against 6,000 Mexican solders. And they lost. But the next month, another outnumbered group of Texans faced that same powerful Mexican army. As they charged into battle, what did the Texans shout? “Remember the Alamo! Remember the Alamo!” What did those brave deaths at the Alamo do? They gave people hope. Hope that led to a resounding victory and independence. If people’s death can give that much hope, what about someone’s resurrection? If Davey Crockett’s death could inspire, what about Jesus’ resurrection? “Remember the resurrection! Remember the resurrection!” You have a “living hope”!
Right now. Even in suffering. If all this hopeful stuff seems disconnected from real life, look at how Peter continues: “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” It sounds like there must be a mistake. All this hope and rejoicing were happening while Christians were going through what? All kinds of trials. This “living hope” from Jesus is so powerful that it keeps on hoping even in the middle of trials.
How? By understanding how God works in our lives. “These [trials] 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.” If life is hard, if you are facing all kinds of trials, that doesn’t mean that God is against you. Far from it! God is refining your faith. Suffering matures our faith in Jesus. At our conference, one wise old presenter said, “I have yet to meet a mature Christian who hasn’t suffered terribly.” I bet if you were to make a list of the people in your life who have been the greatest encouragements to you in your faith in Jesus, there would be something they all have in common: Difficult times in life.
Because sometimes when things go wrong, that means they are going right. With God’s help, can you believe that? Sometimes when things go wrong, that means they are going right. Trials loosen our grip on this world and lead us to put our hope in Christ. One little phrase puts it all in perspective: “for a little while.” “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” Suffering has an expiration date. Whatever you are facing today isn’t going to last forever. What is going to last forever? That inheritance in heaven that can never perish, spoil, or fade. Pain will turn to joy. Shame will turn to glory. In trials, we long, we hope, for Jesus. Sometimes when things go wrong, that means they are going right.
Like Job. Have you heard the story of Job in the Bible? Job suffered a lot. Job lost all his possessions, all his servants, all ten of his children, all on the same day. Then he lost his health, his friends accused him of terrible sins, and his wife told him to curse God and die. I would have been hopeless! But Job wasn’t. He was sad. He was hurt. But he wasn’t hopeless. In the middle of it all, Job wrote, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart years within me!” (Job 19:25-27).
That is hope! Living hope from Jesus. “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 result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” In another place, Paul writes, “Hope that is seen is no hope at all” (Romans 8:24). You don’t have to see it to believe it. Not with Jesus! In trials, you say, “I can’t see him right now!” I know. I can’t either. It can look so dark. “I don’t feel him right now!” I know. It can feel so lonely. That’s where hope comes in. “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.”
I don’t know everything that makes you feel hopeless, but I know this: We have a God of great mercy. He took what we deserved, and he put it on Jesus on the cross. That means there’s hope! We have a God who gives new life. He has washed your past away. Every day is a new day of his grace. That means there’s hope! We have a Savior who actually rose from the dead. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. That means there’s hope! We have an inheritance in heaven that no one can ever take away. That means there is hope for you. Today. Tomorrow. “Living hope.”
As you face the trails of life now for a little while, remember the Christian’s battle cry: “I know that my Redeemer lives!” That’s how you face the devil. “I know that my Redeemer lives!” That’s how you deal with the past. “I know that my Redeemer lives!” That’s how you face death. “I know that my Redeemer lives!” That’s how you have hope. Remember the resurrection. “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.”
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