Pinning Our Hope on Easter - 1 Peter 1:3-8

You are not morning and cleaned up in some way morning and after you have your first meal of the word you're not born again, when you attend Sunday school and church for a year or a month or a week, you are born again when when God's spirit quickens your spirit and you are made alive. We need from our perspective view it is that moment when you embrace the gospel of Christ, not just that his atonement was sufficient for the sins of the whole world first on to do, but that he died for you are gathered to worship no sing songs about the resurrection and hear a message about the resurrection and celebrate the resurrection with other believers. But here's the question. Were going to consider today how is the resurrection affecting the way you live, how will it change the way you think and act over the next 24 hours. In today's message Stephen challenges us to take what we know about the resurrection and make it the focal point of our lives today and every day. This is wisdom for the heart are Bible teacher Stephen Devi begins a two-part series entitled life after Easter.

With today's lesson pending. Our hope on Easter when our twin sons were six years old. According to my journal.

They were challenges in your Bible program here colonial to share the gospel with someone between the space of these two Sundays.

They were told to go and find somebody to tell them the truth about the Lord's life, death, burial and resurrection. So what are boys decided that he would deliver the gospel to his four-year-old sister whom I'm sure needed it desperately. So one afternoon he made her sit down in a chair in the living room. He said now listen to and he began to basically preach the gospel to her and she sat there, believe it or not listening which he was listening in the kitchen and sort of watching this whole thing. And finally, after he finished delivering the truth of the Lord's life is death is Marilyn is resurrection. He sorta marched triumphantly away. She sat there for mom in her chair quietly and then she hollered out from all that was very encouraging to the little evangelist.

I'm sure the truth is the evangelical community is much more like his little sister than we would like to believe. More than likely there can be a lot of people on this campus today and next Lord's day, who believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross. He was buried, and he rose again that you probably believe that that's probably why you're here.

I could deliver that message to you today need sit there and you're seated and perhaps you'd be a lot more polite than my four-year-old daughter, but you could probably say in your heart.

Are you all that which doesn't mean we shouldn't rehearse it is great truth of the gospel, but we believe from the Bible that knowing something is proven to have been known by doing something by being something so perhaps the church really doesn't know it.

After all, perhaps, the church really is in getting it back more and more the church is mirroring our culture. The church is filled with people who no longer believe in absolute truth. They say they believe the gospel, but they do not believe that someone would go to hell if there sincere about whatever it is they believe in. Even though that sincere belief has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. AW toes or provoke my thinking with this quote.

He said it is the devils principle deceitful tactic which makes so many Christians satisfied with an Easter celebration instead of demonstrating the power of Christ's resurrection. The demonstration of life after Easter. There is a lifestyle that should follow Easter. This demonstration of living is taught. It is detailed it is described it is exhorted in the epistles to the New Testament believing church and what I want to do today and next Lord's day is simply examine with you what the apostle Peter set a person would live like if they really didn't know all that, if they really did get the gospel. Here's how they would live so turn with me if you would to first Peter chapter 1 several demonstrations of life after Easter.

Let me give you the first one. If we apply the truth of the gospel that is we really believe it if were really getting then here's the first thing we ought to reveal a living hope and not pin our hopes on a dying world. The resurrection of Christ.

According to Peter is not just an event.

It's a way of life. Look at what he says, beginning with verse three Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead being born again is a moment in time but it is hinged to the resurrection of Christ affect Paul write to the Corinthians, and say that we don't believe in the resurrection of Christ effective. Christ is not risen from the dead. Our faith is in vain or preaching is useless. Being born again is tied to the life of Christ. From our perspective, that moment of salvation that was breathing some prayer.

Some thought in our minds are in our hearts whether we knelt or not.

Whether we felt anything or not. Whether we were alone around a lot of people. Whether we were kneeling or standing. We simply embrace the gospel of Christ, and we said will you be mine. Then I will be your I believe the church will be filled with people fact, perhaps even today, but certainly next Lord's day who might say I already know all that, but they've never done that for themselves. Like the young mother. I talked with last week after one of the services, who, with tears in her eyes said I was raised in church. I was sprinkled as a baby. I was confirmed as a teenager I knew the Christ died on the cross. I know, is the only way to heaven. I don't doubt the record of Scripture, but I realized today that I never personally asked Christ to forgive my sin.

I never asked Christ to become my Savior, tears coursing down her cheeks. We prayed right then and there she was born again to a living hope in Christ. This is the first step of life after Easter. You can't take more steps in the right direction. You might as well stop at verse three and first Peter one because you're not getting any further than that, until you have made this Savior, your Savior now. Beyond that, living the second demonstration we apply the truth of the resurrection our lives here is we ought to recognize our eternal wealth in Christ and stop clambering after temporary stuff farming the text. Let me just comment a little bit we really ought to be different in our demonstration from the unbeliever who doesn't believe there isn't anything more important than what is here on earth. What you get in life. This is all you get. This is all they have in your that I have had this is all that the halyard and new experiences. They try to avoid all the bad stuff and try to get all the good stuff you can because when it's over, it's over. Not according to the resurrection that according to first Peter one. According to the resurrection when it's over. It's only just starting when it's over here. Life is really just beginning. You compare your 60 7080 years to 6070 80 billion years and you would say this is just this was me would be getting you compare your 90 years to 90 trillion years. This is just a snap the finger noticing and what Peter writes in verse three. We've been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to obtain. Here's our wealth. We've obtained an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away to take a pencil. If you have one in your Bibles and underline these three adjectives regarding your inheritance is are wonderful words imperishable. This is from the Greek word that means it will never be spoiled. It is everlasting. It has the idea of always fresh in its immortality, he adds the adjective next notice, undefiled. This is the word of the Greek text, which means to be unstained with evil.

It's flawless you can say it's perfect it's unpolluted third adjective is unfading. The word here was used by the classical Greek authors to speak of the beauty of flowers that were blooming. In other words he's saying here word describes the beauty of our inheritance and course it will never fade in the flower does, but the beauty of flowers. In fact this season he just drive around town near Maidstone. Maybe some grown in your own yard. The beauty of those flowers.

Peter is saying your inheritance is so beautiful, in fact, it will never fade away. All you have to do friends go to the book of Revelation and read the description of the holy city, the new heaven, it's beyond imagination. Well according to the words of Peter.

This is our eternal wealth and this makes all the temporary stuff we gather around us seem so trivial. Number three we ought to be trusting our future to him. We ought to be trusting our future to him and stop worrying that he's unable to fulfill his promise. Notice what Peter writes about this inheritance. He says, which is revealed in heaven.

This inheritance is were reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

All this now again hinges on the resurrection of Christ. The reality of Christ's life are confidence that God has something waiting for us is seen in the fact that Jesus Christ is alive, the resurrection of Christ in the past demonstrates God's ability to resurrect you in the future.

Notice he says you who are protected by the power of God you a circle that were due.

This is so personal, reserved in heaven for you, maybe you could even write your name in the reserved in heaven for Stephen or Bill or Cindy John write the name and is reserved in heaven for you and by the way you who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be climaxed, revealed fully in the final hour love the stall your under the surveillance of an Almighty God, you have a reservation in heaven. Nothing can destroy it diluted diminish it diverted or displaced that your future is as it were under lock and key. If you imagine your inheritance being some will and testament some scroll curled up and tied with a ribbon. It is preserved by God. Under lock and key in heaven waiting for you. Maybe you're wondering is my salvation really that secure can somebody take it away from me. Religion will teach that salvation can be lost by committing mortal sin. The Roman Catholic Church claims the power to both dispense grace and more tragically the power to revoke grace. Jesus Christ said in John 1029 my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish literally. Hopefully they will never ever be lost and my father, who has given them to me, is greater than all and always whoever is capable of taking your salvation away from you would have to be greater than God.

But since God is greater than all Jesus concludes and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand.

Nobody can take your salvation away from exhibit could God please take it away want you to know that if God were to take away your salvation that would require God to have failed for God to choose you and call you and and redeemed you and bring us to life and immerse us in the Christ live and impute Christ's righteousness to our account and the Holy Spirit to seal Lawson take up residency inside of us and the gift us, but then forgot after all of that to say well-balanced too much trouble would mean that God will fail.

He promised to perfect the work to complete the work that he initiated and present as blameless in the work of Christ, and glorified in heaven for God to take back all that he gave would signal failure in the Godhead. It would also signal disunity in the Godhead for the sun would have to be compelled to stop interceding for you what he's doing at this very moment, which would mean the Spirit would have to leave the temple he inhabits, which is your body would be forced to unseal you the father would have to change his eternal will which chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to lose your salvation would mean that God would have to fail and there would have to be chaos in the Trinity disunity in the Trinity that can never happen.

You say, but can Christians give their salvation back okay nobody can take it from me and God will take it from me, but can I can I give it back. Let me give you a short answer in a long answer short answer is this anybody wants to return salvation never had never had this doesn't mean that a Christian can backslider disobey God. The disciples certainly did. But the person who says that used to be a Christian but they gave it back and they are now happily reunited with the world the flesh and the devil never had it to begin with. You don't experience the freedom of a clear conscience and want to dirty one back in. In other words, a believer, because they now have a clean conscience whenever it is dirtied by sin, you run the Christ you restore fellowship with the father because you want even tell your dad with that old conscience and the end of the changing now but you'll like it person who has experienced the freedom from guilt doesn't want Gil back person who lives in the light of heaven does not want to go back and live in the light of hell and darkness. You don't fellowship today with the saints and sing praises to God and love the word of God and then at one point some point in time, despise the church of the living Lord to possible you will walk with him.

You don't trust in him you don't commune with him. You don't depend on him and then at some point in your life so you know I really didn't need him. After all, you never had him you were just playing a game John in fact wrote of those individuals. In his first letter. Chapter 2 verse 19 when he said they went out from us, but they were really not on us.

For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. Those who commune with God through his son. Those who walk with God.

Those you love is where does who are genuinely by faith, believers in Christ, Peter writes, you are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation that will be revealed in the last hour.

That is the last you could say the last chapter, which is a wonderful thought all of its own, which means that nothing could ever occur to you on earth that falls into the category of a final chapter it is in the final chapter for you final chapter is heaven give you 1/4 one we ought to be people of gladness and joy and not mirror the despairing culture around us. Notice the repetition of Peter's use of the Lord rejoice Circle it in verse six and encircle it again. Draw a line down to verse eight and then the word joy later on in verse a look there verse six in this you greatly rejoice that is in this inheritance in this life, you rejoice, even though Peter's a realist. Even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials he saying you rejoice not in the absence of drowsy saying you rejoice in the presence of trials and you can rejoice in and part of his perspective that gives joy is that little phrase for a little while to notice that compare your 60 years to 60 billion years and whatever trials you had in these 60 years is nothing compared 60 billion. Even though you have trials for a little time for seven notice what he says there so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold and by the way gold is a perishable, even though tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor of the revelation of Jesus Christ. And though you have not seen you love him.

I think Peter probably pause there, he thought, you know I've seen him. I denied him and then I saw he came to me and I love think of all these people he's writing. He saying you know what they haven't seen but they love to. And even though you do not see him now, but believe in him. Here it is, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory that easy for Peter to say no is living under this cruel, immoral man that Nero will bring about such great persecution that Peter and Paul will both be martyred.

Christianity is growing at the time of this writing, in its and its despise stayed by its culture will later on in case Christians in wax and like them to give light to his dinner parties outdoors Peter saying you have trials and there are going to be a variety of trials, various trials, he writes interesting word. This word various back in verse six, various trials for colostomy's variegated it means many colored a multi-variety of trials. What he is saying is, no matter what color shade type of trial you have there is a matching grace to accompany God's grace matches whatever the variety of trials you are facing and if we could go around the room and everybody be given a microphone you could share perhaps the trials that God is purifying you with even today, some of you right now are prospering and at the trial of its own. Some of you are struggling financially and that's a trial. Some of you will experience sickness. Maybe you're in a right now others in hearing and remain healthy in the variety of the way that God leads us all to that complete maturity in Christ and ultimately that reserved inheritance which purifies and perfects us all. Until then, some of you will have a long life on earth. Some will have a short life.

Some of your interface challenges in raising your children summer can have an easier time when Christian leader told me just a few days ago, well respected best-selling author. He told me that his daughter at the age of 16, announced to he and his wife that she didn't believe the gospel of Christ never had and she's finally coming out with.

She been compliant to follow the rules that she now had reached the point where she said don't buy it stuff for me.

Some Christians have children to believe in fact they they seem to be perfect those of the people intend to write the books which is frustrating and that your wrestling through every decision you gotta make about children how to educate them. Some you infect the majority. The stargazer probably right in the middle of that one summing up at your kids in public school. Some of put them in Christian school civil homeschool. Some of put them in private schools and will put them in boarding school symbol put them in the attic. Whatever you wrestle with physical infirmity. Some even a grow old easily. So me and have a tough time every step of the way and age easily. Some of you can attack that aging process with all the right things, you know the right stuff to Eaton you can eat natural foods whole grain, no white flour and no sugar and no coffee, no salt, and you cannot you live to the right age of 100 decisions, and difficulties, pressures and stress pain and suffering, anxieties, and on and on and on until we the church begin to mirror the despair and discouragement of our world which is without a living hope we are. According to Peter, who lived in incredibly difficult times to be people of joy, people of gladness, people of mirth, smile should never be very far away from our face.

This is the great demonstration of life after Easter. We really do get it that we really do believe that it really is sinking.

HA Ironside once the pastor of Moody Church. Ironside wrote a lot of books.

I have all of them in my library and century ago pastored this great church downtown Chicago is preaching in the open air and that they would then method seem to work fairly well. A large crowd.

If I gather to hear him preach on the Christian life is actually teaching the Scriptures, a well-known agnostic community leader join the crowd as way to the front. This minute sowed skepticism and doubt in the Scriptures and in the reality of a personal God. He stepped forward and he handed Moody or she is me handed Ironside, a note that simply read, I challenge you to a debate next Sunday afternoon in the whole of science Ironside, stopped, and he read the note aloud, and then said to the man front of everybody. I will be glad to debate you on the reality of the Christian life if you will do one thing bring along with you. A person from your sphere of influence who was discouraged and defeated by life. Not knowing where to turn. What to believe.

Until that person came and heard you lecture your agnostic beliefs bring just one person who, after hearing you speak found peace of mind victory over sin and a purpose for living. Bring one and I will bring 100 and I will debate you. The agnostic turned on his heels and walked away.

Ladies and gentlemen, the unanswerable argument for Christianity is the Christian who is connected to the living reason Christ, whose spirit demonstrates the living hope whose personality demonstrates the joy of Christ whose trust is not in things we see, but in this one he's given us an inheritance.

The Christian who does are then just say I already know that I got that.

How can you tell were getting it by people who do not pin our hopes on a dying world reveal living hope who do not clamber after worldly things but revel in their inheritance in Christ. Do not worry that God will keep his promise to trust their future to his power. Finally, who do not mirror the despairing world around them, but evidence the spirit of gladness in the heart of joy. In other words, these are Christians who are not satisfied with simply hearing about Easter. They want to demonstrate that there is life after Easter. Stephen called the lesson that you just heard practicing the truth of Easter and it's a good reminder, the resurrection that we celebrate during the Easter season should change the way we live every day. This is wisdom for the heart.

The Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davey Stephen is the senior pastor of colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina. You can always find information on our website. Wisdom online.org there's a link to the church that Stephen pastors and I want to mention that today because if for some reason you're unable to make it to your church on Sunday. You can watch our Easter services live over the Internet on Sunday morning. Again, you'll find that information online@wisdomonline.org well, thank you so much for being with us today were honored that you spend this time with us, please come back tomorrow for more wisdom