Our Living Hope!

So I'd like to begin with a beautiful phrase mentioned by the apostle Peter, where he talked about our living hope. What did Peter mean by our living hope? Let's read 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3 about this. He says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And as Homer Moore, that we're celebrating his life today, and he lived his life, he had that living hope. He had his hope not on man, but on God. Notice in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3. As I read here in verse 3, but let's go to see how our hope and whom is our hope. Is it on any man? That's as the first message mentioned. You get into trouble when you start following a man, whether he's a pope or someone else, that basically tells you what you should believe. Well, no, it says in verse 20. He says about talking about Jesus Christ, he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who through him believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. And so we are in this church because we are committed to following God's way of life. His word is the text that we use, and we don't have a man telling us what to believe. We are going to the scriptures to see what God tells us what we should believe.

So God the Father is in charge of our lives. Jesus Christ is at his right hand. He is our elder brother, and that's why we have a living hope that nothing nor no one can quench. It is based on God's plan of salvation that will ultimately prevail. Nobody can hinder God the Father and Jesus Christ from carrying out. There's no power in this whole universe. This whole universe is a creation of God, and it's inferior to God the Father and Jesus Christ. So we should never lose that living hope.

I was impressed years ago when I read about this laboratory experiment, a social science project. These professors wanted to know about hope, and so they were in their laboratory, and they had some rats that they used for experiments. And so they got a big barrel of water. It was quite tall, very slippery on the inside, and it was about three-fourths full of water. And they put a poor rat. Today they wouldn't get away with that in the universities because of the Humane Society and everything. But at that time, rats were rats. They were expendable, and so they just put the rat there. And so the rats started swimming around, swimming around. Can't get away, can't crawl away. And after a few hours, the rat gave up and drowned. And so then next time around, they got another rat. They put it in. Same thing. A couple of hours, they're looking at it, and the rat is about ready to give up. And what did they do? They pulled the rat out. They had it rested. They fed them. The next day, they put the rat back into the barrel. Well, that rat essentially swam about another hour more than what it had done. And why did it last much longer? Because it was always hoping. Just like it had been rescued once before, whereas the first rat, it didn't have any hope. And hope gives us life, gives us that optimism and to persevere. And we have a living hope. It's not a dead hope on human, based on human beings or anything else. It's something lasting. And that's what God wants us to create in us, just as it did in home or more.

We have that hope because Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead and now has a glorified body. And so He will never die. He has a glorious spirit body. And He says, if you have that living hope, you will have a glorified spirit body. And as we age and we start getting all these little creaks and cranks and all these problems, our bodies aren't that good anymore. And you know what? We are looking forward to that glorified body. I know when you're 20, you think you're eternal and immortal, but it's not that way. Just like a car, it has its built-in obsolescence, right? It has its expiration date, but not with the second body that God promises us. Notice in 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15, guess what this chapter has as one of its titles? The hope chapter, because it talks about the resurrection. Just like Hebrews 11 is the chapter we call the faith chapter. 1 Corinthians 15 is the hope chapter. Let's begin in verse one of 1 Corinthians 15.

And so He says about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He says, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel, the good news, which I preach to you, which also you received, and which you stand. In other words, you accepted by which also you are saved. Yes, just like that rat, you know, God is there. He pulls us out of trouble. And one day we're not going to be running around in this world. It's going to be a glorious body. We're never going to have somebody have us die. That won't happen. He says, If you hold fast that word which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain, unless you gave up that hope and people come, they stay for a while and many of them lose that hope. Says, For I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also have received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. So that was a promise from God that was fulfilled and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Christ said three days and three nights He was going to be in the heart of the grave. See, that's another one of those myths that, oh no, He wasn't there the whole time because Easter has them basically being resurrected after a day and a half. Because they say Friday afternoon He was buried. Well, how about one day later Saturday afternoon and they said Sunday morning He was resurrected. That's a day and a half, but that's not according to the Scriptures. And it goes on to say, And that He was seen by Cephas, which is Peter, then by the twelve. So here are all the witnesses. After that, He was seen by over 500 brethren at once. And so here you have 500 people that were part of the church group at that time. And they all saw Him. What was this? A mass hallucination they were having? No, because these people were faithful. They gave that example. And Paul says that as he wrote this epistle, he says, whom the greater part of those 500 remained to the present, they're still there. Go, go to Galilee and and check it out. That's where the great majority lived. Even at the time of Paul, probably some 30 years after the death of Christ, he could still say, well, go, go to this area, talk to these people, see if they're credible witnesses or not. And it's not 50. It's 500 plus. Well, don't you think that nobody could convince them otherwise if they didn't see it? He says, but some have fallen asleep. In other words, some have already died.

And then more witnesses, he brings up, he says, after that, he was seen by James, who was the half brother of Jesus Christ. Now, this is important because James was not a believer until he saw Jesus Christ for himself. James was one of the half brothers that did not believe in Christ. He was a good Jew. He was a traditionalist. He was continuing on thinking his brother, elder brother, was way out there until he saw him. And then what happened? This hostile witness became a believing witness and died for the faith. So it wasn't just people that believed in Christ who saw him. Now, here's we have one that was an adversarial witness that was changed. Then he goes on to save. And then by all the apostles, so they and it was 40 days that Jesus Christ appeared after being crucified and dying. He says, then last of all, he was seen by me also as by one born out of due time because he was practically the last one that Jesus Christ did materialize. And he was able to see Jesus Christ. And he was going to Damascus there. And he saw the presence of Christ and heard him speak to him directly. And so Paul is the second one of these adversarial witnesses. He had been persecuting the whole church. He was one of the leading Jewish authorities. He had all his credibility staked on this. He was going to Damascus to imprison Christians. And after this incident with Christ in the road of Damascus, he changed and became one of the most important and dedicated servants of Christianity. How would that be if it was all a fraud? So again, all of this evidence that we have for that living hope that this did happen, we can stake our lives on it. In Hebrews chapter 11, let's go now to the faith chapter that we talked about.

Because faith goes along with hope. Faith is the walking. Hope is the goal, seeing the goal in the future. But you have to walk with faith and hope with your mind. So in Hebrews 11 verses 8, it says, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. He trusted God. He obeyed God. He says, By faith he dwelt in the land of promise, as in the foreign country.

He did have citizenship there, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise, the same hope. For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. What city is that? That's the one that's coming when Jesus Christ is going to establish the kingdom. When Abraham is resurrected, he's going to be part of that kingdom here on this earth. And then an even greater stage is when the New Jerusalem comes with God the Father. And so that's what he was looking for. He knew this part of the plan that God had.

By faith, Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age. She's about 90 years old because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore, all the descendants of Abraham, all those children of Israel.

It says, verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that there were strangers and pilgrims on the land. So we have this hope. We have a living hope, but that's not something that has happened yet.

And most of us, if Christ doesn't come earlier and transforms us, most of us are going to die with that living hope, just like they did. He says, verse 14, for those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. See, that's again the first message it talked about that we're looking for a country that is coming here, that Christ is going to establish.

This is a desert, a spiritual desert that we live in, but Christ is going to make it into a beautiful, fertile and wonderful land. That's the hope. And truly, if they had been called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. Abraham gave up a lot when he left Ur, and maybe we would have walked around and said, well, I don't know about God, whether all these things are going to happen or not. I'm just going to go back, have my good life in Ur.

People can go back to something they left behind. But once you live, you leave that spiritual Egypt. God says, don't ever go back. We're walking towards that promised land. He says, but now they desire a better that is a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. And so He's preparing that kingdom. He's looking at all the positions. Where am I going to put this person?

Where am I going to put that person? And when Christ comes back, His team is going to be prepared. He's coming to bring His team into the government. Just like every four years, we have presidential elections here. And guess what happens?

You know, I'll go the whole team with the ex-president, and then in comes a new team. You think that president just came in and said, oh, I have no idea who's going to come. Maybe I should just have a door, have people come in and we'll interview him. No, he had that plan, all those positions. And that's the way Jesus Christ, God is a God of order. And so He is preparing the people for that kingdom, that first resurrection that is talked about so much.

And so we see Abraham as an example of having that long-term faith. And through your life, you're going to be tested. Satan's going to test you. Don't believe in that. Just look at your sight. Just think about physical and fleshly things. Now, those things are concrete. I'll give you pleasures. I'll give you all these things that you can just get addicted to and serve me. Or, no, we're just pilgrims here. This isn't what our world and this isn't our kingdom. We're living in it, but we're not of the world. And it's tempting because God says you're not going to receive the reward unless you have to fight and struggle and sacrifice and lose battles. Physical, spiritual battles, you're not going to win everything. But you know what? You have to get up and you have to finish and you have to cross that finish line to be able to receive the reward.

Notice what happens when people lose that living hope. In 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1, in verse 2, it says in verse 2, Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. So that's describing the world, the lusts, whether they're the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life. All of these things are what motivate the world. And then he goes on to say in verse 9, he says, For he who lacks these things, the developing of spiritual virtues and character, he says, is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. And so are we long-sighted or are we short-sighted? Are we looking beyond just a physical and temporary things? Well, that's part of hope. Hope is keeping just like if we had a spyglass. You're looking toward that kingdom. You're looking and knowing, well, it's not yet. It hasn't happened yet, but we know it is. It's coming. And we can stake all our lives on that. God is not a liar. He cannot lie. He goes on to say in verse 10, Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Peter had that vision. We need to have that vision to not have a dead hope that finally you say, oh, no, I'm going to give up because of this or that or something else that happens in our lives. We can be discouraged. We can be disappointed. And nobody's going to get out of this life with life. And we're all going to end up with our final battle, and we have to be there faithfully going forward or else none of that is going to be worth anything. If we give up at the end, notice what it tells us in Ezekiel chapter 18. Ezekiel chapter 18.

This is something that is a principle that's in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Ezekiel 18.

It says here in verse three, he says, As I live, says the Lord God, you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel, but the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on the edge. In other words, what what your parents do, their sins are upon you. That's not the case. That's on their lives, not ours. He says, As I live, says the Lord, behold, all souls are mine. The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine. The soul who sins shall die. But if a man is just and does what is lawful and right, if he is not eaten on the mountains, which means idolatry, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, nor defiled his neighbor's wife, broken some of these commandments, nor approached a woman during her impurity. And then it goes on to say, verse nine, If he has walked in my statutes and kept my judgments faithfully, he is just, he shall surely live, says the Lord. But if he begets a son who is a robber or a shedder of blood, he goes on about all of these things. It says, verse 13, If he has exacted usury or taken increase, shall he then live? He shall not live. If he has done any of these abominations, he shall surely die. His blood shall be upon him. If, however, he begets a son who sees all the sins which his father has done and considers but does not do likewise. And so he becomes righteous. It says at the end of verse 17, he shall surely live.

And verse 19, Yet you say, Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father? Because the son has done what is lawful and right and has kept all my statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. See, salvation is personal. Nobody's sin can affect you. It cannot be over on yourself, on your head, no matter what your parents did or whatever someone else. That's not the case. Husband and wife, if the wife is righteous, the husband isn't, he's going to pay. The wife is not going to be in judgment in that way.

It says, verse 20, The soul who sins shall die, the son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. But he goes on to say, But if a wicked man turns from all his sins, which he has committed, keeps all my statutes, and does what is lawful, and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. See, God is always willing to forgive a person that returns to obedience. None of his transgressions, which he has committed, shall be remembered against him because of the righteousness which he has done. He shall live. He says, verse 24, this is what I have an important point. But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed because of them he shall die. And so that's what we see in the church, where there are people that can drop out, have a hard period of time, go back into the world. Sometimes they repent, they come back. Boy, we bring them back with open arms. Welcome back because we have all sinned. We all need forgiveness. And so our living hope is that God is always going to be faithful. And if we turn to him again, he is always willing to forgive and forget.

There are three great hopes that we have according to the scripture. First, the hope of the coming kingdom, the transformation of this evil world to a restored world under Christ. That was the essence of the apostles' teachings. Notice here, let's go to Acts.

Acts chapter 2.

He talks about the restoration of all the things that he preached here about this, about Jesus Christ.

Let me see here. I got the scripture in mind. Yeah, sorry, chapter 3 verse 19. There are two parts, one, two messages here. This is the one in chapter 3 verse 19. Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out so the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

This is the hope that we have. I remember just about everyone that I know that's preparing to be baptized. They begin to see that goal. I want to be part of that kingdom when Christ comes back. And Jesus said, Matthew 6, 33, says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things that are physical will be added to you. And so that was that exciting moment. Wow, I can be called. I can be part of that coming kingdom. I want to be part of that. And that's where the living hope started. And I started looking at that coming kingdom and preparing for that coming kingdom. I can't prepare anyone else, but I can prepare myself. That's what counts.

The second great hope is for that coming personal transformation, because it's not just Christ coming and being part of a kingdom. It's a personal transformation. Notice Philippians chapter three in verse 20. Philippians chapter three, verse 20.

It says, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. That's the promise. That's our living hope.

And lastly, the third point, the hope of being part of God's family in the future. Philippians chapter three, verse one.

Philippians chapter three, verse one. It says, behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. So, children, I know I have children. It's the family, right? So now you're part. God is saying you can be a child of mine. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. See, the world has another idea of a trinity and that we're never going to be part of a God family that totally throws out this great hope that God gives us. He said, verse two, beloved, now we are the children of God and it has not been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. It's not some inferior being away from the family of God. It's going to be part of the family. That's what God is offering us through this living hope. In Romans 8, as we begin to wind down here, Romans 8, in verse 15, it talks about that great hope. And in this day in particular, when we're thinking about Homer and he's awaiting that future resurrection, he persevered. He was faithful. We should also have that same hope. Romans 8, verse 15, it says, for you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption or sonship, as they should say.

But you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father, Abba is a tender. We would call him Daddy today. There's only four people that call me Daddy. That's my four daughters. And here God is saying, you can call me Daddy. That's how intimate it is. The spirit, it should say itself, as the King James Version has it, bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Yes, we have all kinds of things that sufferings we go through. But in comparison, when we are all together again, as one happy family in the kingdom of God, you think we're going to be thinking about the period of time that we spent maybe in widowhood and waiting. Yes, but there's a future time, a living hope that God has given us.

It says in verse 22, for we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now for that coming kingdom. Not only that, but we also have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies, waiting for that moment. Homer's going to have a new body. It's going to be wonderful when we see that. For we were saved in this hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. Well, if we had people already resurrected, we'd say, well, see, it's already happened. But no, only Christ has been resurrected that way. So we still have that hope. It's going to happen one day to us. For why does one still hope for what he sees? Already it has been fulfilled. But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance, with perseverance, with lasting hope that we have. And as we are celebrating the life of Homer Moore, certainly a life that we all feel privileged to have gotten to know. And I remember there at those final days with him, as Cady and I visited him and Anna, he was at peace. God did not let him suffer and go through agonizing pain. He was asleep. He was resting. He'd wake up sometimes. He was at peace because he had a living hope. And that's what we all need to have as well.