The reading of God's Word this evening comes from 1 Peter 1, and we will read from verse 1 to verse 9, but our text will be verses 3 to 9. 1 Peter 1, 3 to 9, if that's in your pew Bibles, it's page 1293 in your pew Bibles. This is the reading of God's Holy Word. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time in this you rejoice though now for a little while if necessary you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him you love him. Though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Will you pray with me? Father, without your Spirit here with us, what we do is fruitless. And so we ask tonight that your Spirit would be involved in the speaking of this Word and also in the hearts of your saints. Help them to be comforted by the message of this exhortation this morning. This evening, it's in your name that we pray. Amen. I've got to get that right. It's the evening. Have we forgotten that we are pilgrims? In the midst of daily life, in the midst of daily life's temptations and struggles, it can be a very easy thing to forget. But if you're a Christian this evening, then you are a pilgrim. And if you are a pilgrim, you know that wilderness wandering can often be very difficult. It can be very hard. Being a pilgrim means that we have no lasting treasure here on this earth. And it means that we are not of this world. And our hope, if it is to be real hope, cannot be in something seen, but must be looking towards the future. As Paul says in Romans 8, 24, Now, hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. You see, hope is expectant. Hope anticipates something to come in the future. And it was the same for the people of God in the Old Testament. Hebrews 11 tells us that by faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. You see, Abraham was a pilgrim like us. And Hebrews 11 goes on and says, By faith, Abraham went to live in the promise as in a foreign land. Now, why would Abraham live in the land of promise as in a foreign land? It's because he wasn't looking towards an earthly land. He wasn't looking towards an earthly city. He was looking toward the city that has foundations, whose builder and designer is God. And it's fascinating what Hebrews says next. It says that the patriarchs all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. And who is Peter writing to this evening? Well, he's writing to elect exiles. These are two critical labels for the Christian. We are both elect according to the knowledge of God before the foundations of the world. We were set apart by the Spirit for sanctification and obedience to Christ and also for our atonement with the sprinkling of His blood. but we are also exiles, living in a land that is not our own as we await the coming city of God. And what does Peter begin his letter with? What does he find most important to tell these struggling exiles who have been burdened, he says, by various trials? Well, he reminds them of their hope. Pilgrims need to constantly be hearing about their destination where they're going, where they're headed. And why do we need to constantly be hearing about where we're going? It's because there are two main temptations for the pilgrim. The first, as Peter says here, is that under the weight of various trials, we can become depressed and we can become sad so much so that we stop looking in joy towards the future and what will be given to us. And the second temptation is to become complacent. The second temptation is to become lazy. Peter says in his second epistle that there's a very real opportunity that we can become ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Do you remember the parable of the ten virgins? Jesus tells this parable of ten virgins, and he says that there were five foolish virgins who did not have enough oil in their lamps. And so they had to go into the city to buy more, And while they were in the city, the master of the banquet came, the marriage feast door was closed, and they were not able to get in to the marriage feast. And Jesus ends that parable by saying, watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Do you count yourself as a pilgrim this evening? Or are we so tied to this world that being a sojourner in a strange land means nothing to us? Or do you have a hope for the future? In the midst of our pilgrim wanderings and in the midst of us being exiles, we need instilled in us the hope and the joy that comes from our hope, which can sustain us in the various trials that we go through, but also keep our eyes looking towards that future day in readiness, not becoming ineffective, not becoming complacent, but to keep the oil of grace and to keep the oil of joy and to keep the oil of hope in our lamps. What can give us joy through the sorrow? What can keep us from complacency? Peter says it is the hope of something coming in the future. We must look both directions in history. We must look back to where our sins were forgiven with the sacrifice of Christ, where we were made new, And we must also look to the future to keep our eyes fixed on the horizon because we know neither the day nor the hour. This past week, Pastor Gordon graciously allowed me to study in his study on Wednesday while he was gone on vacation. And I could get used to your study, number one. And number two is that there's a wooden sign right above his computer. And it says, perhaps today. And that sign means that we have a longing and an anticipation for what is coming to us in the future. Perhaps today Jesus will come. Perhaps today. And so our message this evening is all about hope. And it's about hope in three ways. The basis of our hope, the content of our hope, and the end of our hope. The basis, the content, and the end of our hope. and we begin with the basis of our hope. Peter begins our passage by writing, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So what does Peter locate as the basis of our hope? Well, notice first the priority of God's actions. It says that God caused us to be born again to this living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now, how were we born again? We find our answer in 1 Peter 1, verse 23. Peter says, Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. And what was that living and abiding word of God that Peter is talking about. Well, look at verse 25 of chapter 1. He says, And this word is the good news that was preached to you. So at some point in a person's life who's a Christian, the Spirit took the gospel and he applied it to their heart. And Peter tells us that this is not something that we did, but God caused us to be born again. And then he says that we were born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so he locates the grounding or the basis of our hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If the resurrection did not happen, we could have no hope. If Christ has not been raised, Paul wrote, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, all of us here, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins. There's really no reason why we should be here tonight if Jesus has not risen from the dead. And Paul goes on a little later and he says, If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. You see, if our hope in Christ only extends to our death, then we have a dead hope. We have a false hope. But the historical fact is that Christ was raised from the dead. We believe the testimony of the apostles. And more than this, we believe what was promised to us in the Old Testament by the prophets where in Isaiah 25, 8, it says he will swallow up death forever. It's a great image. He'll swallow up death forever. Or what about Psalm 16? David writes, Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure. Or as Peter quotes it in the New Testament, my flesh also dwells in hope. Why? For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your Holy One see corruption. Now Peter pulls this verse into his Pentecost sermon and he says that David was not speaking about himself. David was speaking about the Christ. That Christ was not abandoned to Hades. And that Christ's flesh did not see corruption. Death was swallowed up in victory when Christ rose from the dead. Jesus was put to death as a perishable man like all of us. But he was raised an imperishable man. We have a living Savior. And because we have a living Savior who is seated at the right hand of God, we have what Peter says here. is a living hope. And that's not a hope in the way that we talk about hope. It's not, well, I hope such and such a thing will happen in the future. It's not that. It's a hope that's absolutely certain because it's based on something that happened in the past that is absolutely certain. Just think of Peter. Just days after the guilt and shame of denying his Lord on the day of his death, He is with the disciples in the upper room. They're cowering in fear. They don't know what to do. The shepherd has been struck and the sheep have been scattered. But when Peter sees the risen Christ and when Peter sees the risen Christ ascended into heaven, we see a completely changed man. A man who no longer cowers in fear but a man who boldly proclaims the message of Jesus Christ and a man who is willing to give his back to the whip which will tear his flesh and also ultimately to be martyred for the sake of Jesus Christ. You see, Peter had a hope. Peter had a wonderful living hope through all the persecutions, through all the sufferings, and through all the trials that this world could throw at him. He was driven to run the race because of this hope. And this hope's basis was anchored in the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it is because of Christ's resurrection from the dead that our bodies will be changed into imperishable bodies. Remember Job's words in Job 19? It's quite remarkable what he says. He says, For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth, and after my skin has thus been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold and not another. And then he says, my heart faints within me. That last statement is a statement of hope. My heart is fainting in waiting for the day that I will receive new flesh, and I will be able to look upon my Redeemer and my God with my very own eyes. Have you believed in the Christ who rose from the dead? Have you placed your trust, and have you placed your hope in Him? Because having a risen Savior is the only basis, the only basis for having a real living hope. Otherwise, we have no hope and we are dead in our trespasses and our sins. But the Christian, the Christian has a hope for the future. And so Peter locates the basis of our living hope and the fact that we have a risen and a living Savior. And now Peter goes on to talk about the content of our hope. He says, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. So Peter says that God caused us to be born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ and into an inheritance. And so the inheritance is what we have a living hope for. But what is the inheritance? We're pilgrims. We want to know what's coming in the future. But Peter doesn't say precisely here. So turn with me to 2 Peter. 2 Peter 3, we'll find our answer. Verse 13. 2 Peter 3, verse 13. But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. For the people of God in the Old Testament, they had the land of Canaan. as their inheritance. They had a specific land that God had given to them. This is what God had sworn to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and to Israel. To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance. That's Psalm 105, 11. So as the Israelites were given an earthly land, we remember that Abraham was looking towards a better country so that we see that Canaan was a type of something to come in the future that we will receive in its fullness. Revelation tells us that the seventh angel will blow his trumpet and loud voices in heaven will say, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah and he will reign forever and ever. The new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And when John sees the vision of the new Jerusalem, and he sees the one who is seated on the throne, the one who is seated says, Behold, I am making all things new. And it is because God is making or will make all things new that we have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. These are the characteristics of the inheritance that is coming to us. Now, what does imperishable mean? Kids, do you know what imperishable means? Well, what does perishable mean? If I put a banana out in the sun for three days, what's going to happen to that banana? It's going to perish. It's going to get rotten. It's going to get black. And Peter says that our inheritance is imperishable, meaning that our inheritance cannot perish. This is the same word that Paul uses for the immortality of God. Just as God is immortal, so shall our inheritance be. And it is also the word that Paul uses for the imperishability of our bodies in the second coming. Colossians 1.12 says that we ought to give thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Do you remember when Moses came down from Mount Sinai and his face was radiant? And the Israelites could not bear to look upon his face, and so he put a veil over his face. Well, Paul says that the glory of the old covenant is passing away because of the surpassing glory of the new covenant. And he says in 2 Corinthians, we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed from one degree of glory into another. What does that mean? It means that our inner man has been renewed by the Spirit. If you're a Christian, your inner man has been renewed so that we have tasted a small piece of that glory. But when we stop seeing through the glass dimly, and when what we will be is revealed, God will have perfected these perishable bodies with the sheer radiance of his glory, and we will live before our King, Jesus Christ, for ages and ages. But Peter also says that our inheritance is undefiled or pure. No unrighteousness can dwell in the new heavens and the new earth. and God's Spirit is sent to us now so that we will be prepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb. This word, undefiled, is a word that the Bible uses to talk about the purity of the marriage bed. Marriage is a mystery that shows forth the relationship between Christ and his church and Jesus himself is preparing us, he's purifying us, he is sanctifying us for that last day, for that final marriage feast of the Lamb. And then Peter says that our inheritance is unfading. It's unending. How can God's kingdom have an end when God promised to David that he would put an heir on his throne forever? This is a verse that we like to quote at Christmas, but it's appropriate. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. On the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and uphold it. That's Isaiah 9, 7. And Psalm 45 says of our Jesus, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. Now, Peter has just gone over some amazing truths about the inheritance that is going to be brought to us at the last time. But how do we know that we'll get into that kingdom? Can you know that you will persevere to the end? If you're a pilgrim and you're holding on to the promises of God, certainly doubts will sometimes creep in. Peter, I am a weak, wandering pilgrim. How can I be sure that I will make it to that inheritance? And Peter goes on in verse 4 in saying that this inheritance is kept in heaven for you who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Are you worried that you don't have the strength? Are you worried that you will falter? Are you perplexed about this wilderness journey? Well, I can assure you one thing. You don't have the strength. No one in this room has the strength, but God has the strength. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. You see, God completes what he begins. Notice that the inheritance is already there. It's just waiting, Peter says. It's just kept in heaven for you. Now, do you believe that God has the power to preserve you and to bring you through the valley of the shadow of death to your eternal home? Do you believe that? Because the Bible proclaims to you that God does have the power and that is our only hope. But as pilgrims, we often ask the question, why does it have to be so difficult now, in the present? Why does the Lord wait? Why does the Lord tarry? Isn't he completely fed up with this world? Well, Peter goes on and he says in verse 6, in this, referring to the hope, you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Beloved, our faith is being proved genuine to a watching world. The Lord is showing by the various trials that we go through in this life that our faith is genuine. Just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. And Peter says, though now for a little while. Now, going through the purifying process of this life is not easy, and it's painful, and it's difficult, and it doesn't feel like a little while. But when we come to the end of our lives, I've heard older saints say, you know, the years, they just flew by. I don't know where the time went. In the context of eternity, it is just a little while. Just a little while. And Peter says that during this little while, you rejoice in this hope. This joy, despite the sorrows of life, is what carries the Christian's eyes to look forward to that coming day of rest. To strain for the prize. We want to be given that imperishable crown of righteousness. Do you know what Hebrews says about Jesus? It says, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Now what was Jesus' joy in? His joy was in us. He put aside temporary and fleeting pleasures to gain the all-satisfying pleasure of redeeming us and bringing us back into right relationship with His Father. And now our joy is in the certain hope of hearing our Savior say, well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master. We ought to despise sinful joys. and sinful pleasures. Now, despise them because the world is passing away. We long to come to Zion with singing where everlasting joy shall be upon our heads and when we see our Savior, our words will be so full of honor and praise and glory for the Lord who bought us and for the Lord who purchased us. And so, what is the end of our hope? When will our hope be turned to sight? Well, as of now, Peter writes this. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Do you understand that that's for us now? The greatest joy that can be known to mankind now is for the Christian man and for the Christian woman. It's unbridled. It's inexpressible because it's created in us by the Holy Spirit of God. But our hope will come to full fruition and cease to be hope on the same day that we receive the outcome of our faith and our faith will be changed into sight. On that day when we see with our very own eyes our Savior coming on the clouds just as He left, the shepherd of our souls to gather in His sheep to bring them into the everlasting pastures of the new heavens and the new earth. That's the end of our hope. So I suppose there are a few more questions to be asked. Does this hope cause you to rejoice? Do you have a hope like this for the future? Have you been born again to a living hope and to a joy inexpressible? Do you have a hope for when Jesus comes back or you die? Because we're all going to die. Perhaps some of you think, I'm not sure. Turn with me to John 3, the Gospel of John chapter 3. John 3, and look at verse 8. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Basically, you can't control the Spirit. He's going to move where he wants to when the gospel is being preached. But you can see the effects of the Spirit, just as you can see the wind blowing through the trees. And what are the effects of the Spirit? Look at verse 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him may have eternal life. So what are the effects of the Spirit? Have you believed in the Son of Man who is lifted up on a cross? Have you placed your faith? Have you placed your trust in Him? Have you repented of your sins and have you trusted in Christ? Because only then can this hope for the future be for you. Now you say, how can I enter into this inheritance simply by my belief? It's because the inheritance coming is not earned by our obedience to God's law. I want to say that one more time. Our inheritance coming is not earned by our obedience to God's law. Galatians 3.18, for if the inheritance comes by law, it no longer comes by promise. But God gave it to Abraham by promise. And so, motivated by the promise, we should work heartily as working for the Lord, but not to win the reward by our good works, but in grateful, future-looking expectation when God will grant us grace at the second coming of Christ. The inheritance is not gained by our obedience. It is given to us on the basis of grace and promise and Christ's obedience. Now that is a gift that is inexpressible. And we don't respond to God's gift by saying that we must work for it because you don't work for a gift. But rather we live in the joy inexpressible now and looking towards the future of the joy inexpressible that we will be given. So what a motivation to go out into this future week and to give a reason for the hope that lies within us. What a reason to not become so sad and depressed that we stop looking towards the future goal of heaven, the new heavens and the new earth. And what a reason not to become complacent. And so I want to end with 1 Peter 1.13. 1 Peter 1.13. Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. That is our hope. Amen. Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. We praise you for your works and history that you have done in the past, and we await that day when our faith and hope will be sight we await that day when we will see our Savior in all of his glory and when we too shall be glorified in him keep us from the overwhelming sadness of our pilgrim journey keep us also dear Lord from complacency help us to live in hope longing for that day awaiting the new heavens and the new earth and the new Jerusalem Amen Thank you.