Our Reason for Hope

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 7th of May, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, today I’d like to begin looking at the letters the Apostle Peter wrote to the early church that was quickly spreading out over the known world.  As I do, let’s keep in mind that Simon Peter was a fisherman by trade when Jesus first approached him and his brother Andrew along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Their entire life and livelihood revolved around fishing – going out in small boats, casting their nets into the deep waters of the sea, bringing in and selling what fish they could catch.  A higher education was not nearly as important as a strong back.

Fishing is what Peter knew; fishing is what Peter did.  And then Jesus came along and offered to make him a fisher of men.  Peter, and Andrew, gave up everything, left everything behind, just to follow Jesus, as did two other brothers – James and John – who were also fishermen.  They put all their trust, all their hope in Jesus.

Peter may not have been well educated, but you’d never know it from reading his letters.  Most of us can take a handful of words and form them into some semblance of a meaningful sentence, but the structure of that sentence, and the weight the words in it carry, very often reflect the education level of the author.

Peter’s letters buck that trend.  His words are powerful, his sentences flow smoothly like the waters of a calm stream.  This is a man of God, inspired by God, powered by God’s Holy Spirit to deliver God’s message to God’s people.  Just as we can hear our Lord’s voice in Peter’s sermons recorded for us in the Apostle Luke’s Book of Acts, we can see His hand at work in these two letters.

So let’s begin right at the beginning.  Please listen and follow along to the words of encouragement Peter wrote in the 1st 12 verses of the 1st chapter of his 1st letter to the far-flung early church, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To God's people who are scattered like foreigners in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

2 God the Father decided to choose you as His people, and His Spirit has made you holy. You have obeyed Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with His blood.

I pray that God will be kind to you and will keep on giving you peace!

3 Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, He has given us new life and a hope that lives on. 4  God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.

5 You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then He will save you, just as He has always planned to do. 6 On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. 7  Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.

8 You have never seen Jesus, and you don't see Him now. But still you love Him and have faith in Him, and no words can tell how glad and happy 9 you are to be saved. This is why you have faith.

10 Some prophets told how God would treat you with undeserved grace, and they searched hard to find out more about the way you would be saved. 11 The Spirit of Christ was in them and was telling them how Christ would suffer and would then be given great honor. So they searched to find out exactly who Christ would be and when this would happen. 12 But they were told that they were serving you and not themselves. They preached to you by the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven. And their message was only for you, even though angels would like to know more about it.

--1 Peter 1:1-12 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, those people who first followed Your Son Jesus feared for their lives after His crucifixion, and they fled from Jerusalem.  But as they ran, the church spread and grew as they testified of our risen Lord.  Thank You, Father, for blessing the early church and keeping it alive and thriving.  Thank You for protecting the church through the ages, even as it faced persecution.  Father, please forgive us when we fail to do our part in helping the church grow.  Forgive us when we are slow to rise in defense of the church and of Your word.  Show us how we can better serve the body of our Lord Jesus.  Remind us of our role in spreading Your kingdom.  And Father, please protect us from Satan, who seeks to destroy the church, and shield us from those who are so willing to carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Your Son Jesus is the foundation of our hope, the reason for our hope.  Help us share that hope with a world without hope.  This we pray in the precious name of Christ Jesus, our risen Lord.   Amen.

The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city's hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and room number and talked briefly with the child's regular class teacher. "We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said, "and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too far behind." 

The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn't accomplished much. 

But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. "No, no," said the nurse. "You don't know what I mean. We've been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment. It's as though he's decided to live." 

Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"

It didn’t matter that the teacher was so shocked at the boy’s physical appearance and obvious pain that she stumbled and fumbled trying to help him understand a few simple parts of speech.  It didn’t matter that she thought she failed miserably at what she had gone there to do, missing out on the whole purpose of her mission, her assignment from the school to teach this boy.  The only thing that mattered was that she came.  She came to a boy in a hopeless situation.  She came, and without knowing it, she gave him hope.

This had nothing to do with what the teacher did that day.  This is what God did, through the teacher, to give the will to live back to that boy.  We may never know the huge impact some small act we perform will have on another unless we just do it.  We may never know what God can do through us unless we let Him.

Peter opens his first letter by reminding us that we are God’s people – chosen by God, made holy by His Holy Spirit, washed clean of our sin by the blood of Jesus.  I wonder if sometimes we forget this.  Or maybe we just don’t understand how He could have chosen us – you and me – to be His children, chosen us back before time began.

Why would He choose me, and leave someone else behind?  Why would He give me the faith to believe in His Son Jesus enough to follow Him?  How could He love me, the sinner that I am, so much that He wants me with Him for all eternity?

Peter tells us why.  Because God is so good.  And by raising Jesus from the grave, God has given us a hope that lives on, within us, the expectation of new life, just as He gave His Son - a new life that will never decay or be ruined or disappear.  Christ Jesus is our reason for hope.

But what does this mean, that Jesus is the foundation of our hope?  What does it mean to put all our trust in Him, in God?

Jesus told us many things while He ministered to us on this earth.  He told us that on the third day after His death, He would rise from the grave and live again before returning home to be with His Father in heaven.  And He promised that we too – we believers – would also rise from the dead and live forever with Him in paradise.  And because everything He ever predicted, everything He ever promised, came true, we can put our faith in Him that this promise will also come true.

Our faith is what helps us get through this life.  Our trust and our hope are our lifelines to the next life.  We trust that, in the last day, God will save us, because Jesus said He will.  This is what gets us through the tough times, the trials we face each day.  Our trust is solid, based on all that Jesus said and did.  Our hope is solid, based on the resurrection of Jesus.

Now our hope is not as the world views hope.  In the world’s perspective, hope is little more than a wish, a dream that most likely will not come true.  I hope it doesn’t rain today and spoil our picnic.  I hope I’ll win the lottery soon.  I hope my car will hold out another five years.

No, our hope is an expectation of receiving what we have been promised by the One who keeps all promises.  Our hope is an assurance that springs from our faith.  Our hope – our only hope – is in Jesus.

It is understandably difficult for some folks to grasp the three persons of God, and particularly that of Jesus.  We believers know that Jesus is God, but He is also the one true Son of God, and He is the first and foremost Servant of God, at least according to Isaiah.

Please listen as I read the 1st seven verses of the 42nd chapter of the Book of Isaiah, as God first speaks through the prophet to us, telling us about His Servant Jesus, and then speaks directly to His Servant…

1 Here is My Servant!

I have made Him strong.

He is My Chosen One;

I am pleased with Him.

I have given Him My Spirit,

and He will bring justice

to the nations.

2 He won't shout or yell

or call out in the streets.

3 He won't break off a bent reed

or put out a dying flame,

but He will make sure

that justice is done.

4 He won't quit or give up

until He brings justice

everywhere on earth,

and people in foreign nations

long for His teaching.

5 I am the Lord God.

I created the heavens

like an open tent above.

I made the earth and everything

that grows on it.

I am the source of life

for all who live on this earth,

so listen to what I say.

6 I chose You to bring justice,

and I am here at Your side.

I selected You and sent You

to bring light

and My promise of hope

to the nations.

7 You will give sight

to the blind;

You will set prisoners free

from dark dungeons.

--Isaiah 42:1-7 (CEV)

We’ve seen before where God tells us how pleased He is with Jesus, and here is yet another such time.  Jesus is strong, chosen by God and given the Holy Spirit to bring justice to all peoples of the world.  Justice is important to God, mentioned four times in these seven short verses.  And this justice has nothing to do with the laws of man, but with the law of God, for God is just and He expects righteousness.  Jesus was chosen by God to bring justice, selected by God and sent to bring light to a dark world, sent to bring hope to a world without hope.

Family, in this life we will have trials.  That’s another promise Jesus made us, and it has sure come true.  And some situations we find ourselves in may seem hopeless, but only if we see hope as an expectation for something to get us out of that situation.  Instead, if we see hope as the saving grace that God gives us in His Son, His Servant, Jesus, then we can take rest and find peace in knowing that no situation is hopeless for those in Christ.

No matter the outcome of any event in this life, we are assured of our future in the next once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Redeemer.  He is our reason for hope, our only hope.  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for choosing us to be Your holy people.  And thank You for choosing Jesus to be Your Servant, who brings justice and light and hope to this lost world.  Thank You, Father, for being so very kind and gracious to us.  Thank You most of all for giving us the faith to believe in Jesus and accept Him as our Lord, for we know He is our only hope.  Forgive us, please Father, when we take Your love and Your mercy for granted.  Forgive us when we slip back into our old, sinful ways, even if only for a moment, a thought that quickly passes.  Forgive us when we hesitate to share with others why we are filled with hope, even when things seem hopeless.  Please, loving Father, help us remember nothing is ever truly hopeless as long as we trust in our Lord.  Help us hold fast to Your word and Your promises.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You are our reason for hope.  Everything You ever said would happen, did happen.  Everything You ever promised came true.  So we are assured that what You have promised us will be fulfilled.  By Your resurrection from death and new life, we know that we will also be given new life after our own death, new life with You and God for all eternity.  Thank You, Jesus, for showing us how to live.  Thank You for showing us the way to glory, for bringing us light and justice and hope.  Lord, please help us share this message of hope with others.  Remind us that it is our job, our mission, to make more disciples for You, to help the lost avoid eternal death.  Help us testify for You and be Your witnesses.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.