1 00:00:00,266 --> 00:00:03,119 This is a reading from first Peter 1:1- 2 00:00:03,119 --> 00:00:06,122 12. 3 00:00:14,447 --> 00:00:17,450 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 4 00:00:17,634 --> 00:00:21,504 to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, 5 00:00:21,888 --> 00:00:25,141 Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, 6 00:00:25,308 --> 00:00:28,228 and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge 7 00:00:28,228 --> 00:00:31,681 of God the Father in the sanctification of the spirit, 8 00:00:32,248 --> 00:00:36,152 for obedience to Jesus Christ, and for sprinkling with his blood. 9 00:00:36,903 --> 00:00:40,040 May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 10 00:00:41,357 --> 00:00:44,911 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 11 00:00:45,662 --> 00:00:47,597 According to his great mercy. 12 00:00:47,597 --> 00:00:50,867 He has caused us to be born again to a living hope 13 00:00:51,468 --> 00:00:54,721 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 14 00:00:55,255 --> 00:00:58,258 to an inheritance that is imperishable, 15 00:00:58,308 --> 00:01:02,512 undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 16 00:01:03,029 --> 00:01:06,116 who by God's power are being guarded through faith 17 00:01:06,416 --> 00:01:10,220 for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 18 00:01:10,620 --> 00:01:15,542 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary. 19 00:01:15,809 --> 00:01:18,595 You have been grieved by various trials, 20 00:01:18,595 --> 00:01:21,598 so that the tested genuineness of your faith, 21 00:01:21,631 --> 00:01:26,903 more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found 22 00:01:26,903 --> 00:01:29,906 to result in praise and glory 23 00:01:30,056 --> 00:01:33,059 and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 24 00:01:33,927 --> 00:01:36,930 Though you have not seen him, you love him. 25 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,499 Though you do not see him, 26 00:01:39,499 --> 00:01:42,235 you believe in him and rejoice with him 27 00:01:42,235 --> 00:01:45,238 that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 28 00:01:45,772 --> 00:01:49,826 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 29 00:01:50,059 --> 00:01:51,828 Concerning this salvation, 30 00:01:51,828 --> 00:01:55,498 the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours 31 00:01:55,498 --> 00:01:59,252 searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person 32 00:01:59,252 --> 00:02:02,572 or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating. 33 00:02:02,572 --> 00:02:06,810 When he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories, 34 00:02:07,644 --> 00:02:11,064 it was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, 35 00:02:11,064 --> 00:02:14,517 but you in the things that have now been announced to you 36 00:02:14,968 --> 00:02:17,604 through those who preach the good news to you 37 00:02:17,604 --> 00:02:22,408 by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things into which angels longed to look. 38 00:02:26,696 --> 00:02:29,365 Hey everybody, good morning and welcome to CCC. 39 00:02:29,365 --> 00:02:32,368 It's so good to have you here. 40 00:02:33,002 --> 00:02:36,389 We have been, as most of you know, in the midst of a transition 41 00:02:36,389 --> 00:02:40,343 of the position of senior pastor from myself to Pastor Zach. 42 00:02:40,343 --> 00:02:44,147 And the last step of that process was a vote of the membership 43 00:02:44,147 --> 00:02:47,150 to affirm, Zach as pastor. 44 00:02:47,367 --> 00:02:51,621 And now that has been concluded, and I get to give you the results 45 00:02:51,621 --> 00:02:52,989 according to our constitution. 46 00:02:52,989 --> 00:02:57,060 And, Zach needed at least 50% of the vote. 47 00:02:57,627 --> 00:03:02,482 And because he received over 98%, I get to have the privilege 48 00:03:02,482 --> 00:03:06,469 of introducing you to our new senior pastor, Doctor Zach. 49 00:03:06,469 --> 00:03:09,472 Weihrauch. 50 00:03:19,682 --> 00:03:20,366 Well, thank you. 51 00:03:20,366 --> 00:03:23,002 As I've said before, it's such a privilege. 52 00:03:23,002 --> 00:03:26,272 And, you know, this place has been home for a long time now, 53 00:03:26,272 --> 00:03:30,143 but it's nice to have that out of the way, I think, and just let it be home. 54 00:03:30,143 --> 00:03:31,861 So thank you so much. 55 00:03:31,861 --> 00:03:34,681 Hey, I'm really excited about a new sermon series 56 00:03:34,681 --> 00:03:38,067 we are starting this week, and it's going to take us all 57 00:03:38,067 --> 00:03:41,521 through the fall, all the way up until Christmas. 58 00:03:41,521 --> 00:03:43,856 We're going to be looking at First Peter. 59 00:03:43,856 --> 00:03:46,559 In fact, if you have a Bible, you can go ahead and take it out 60 00:03:46,559 --> 00:03:47,844 and open it to first Peter 61 00:03:47,844 --> 00:03:51,331 chapter one, your phone, your tablet, however you want to get there. 62 00:03:51,681 --> 00:03:55,051 And hey, if you're here and you're new to church, maybe it's been a while. 63 00:03:55,518 --> 00:03:58,521 Maybe you've never been in church and you don't know, 64 00:03:58,588 --> 00:03:59,939 you didn't know you need to bring a Bible. 65 00:03:59,939 --> 00:04:02,492 You didn't know. You don't know where first Peter is. 66 00:04:02,492 --> 00:04:05,478 Hey, let me just stop for a second and say, I'm so glad that you're here. 67 00:04:05,578 --> 00:04:07,947 And you are in exactly the right place. 68 00:04:07,947 --> 00:04:11,851 And everything that happens this morning is as much for you as it is for anyone. 69 00:04:12,118 --> 00:04:15,121 And when I use a verse from the Bible, it's going to be on the screen behind me. 70 00:04:15,271 --> 00:04:18,491 But if you want to hold something, there's a Bible in the pew in front of you 71 00:04:18,508 --> 00:04:19,525 or in the back of East Hall. 72 00:04:19,525 --> 00:04:21,527 It's actually the same one I use. 73 00:04:21,527 --> 00:04:25,882 So I can tell you that, first Peter chapter one is on page 953. 74 00:04:25,915 --> 00:04:27,317 Thanks for being here. 75 00:04:27,317 --> 00:04:30,153 But however you're getting there, I want to let you know 76 00:04:30,153 --> 00:04:34,407 that we are starting this sermon series because, we believe there's 77 00:04:34,407 --> 00:04:38,928 a real similarity between the setting and context of first Peter and our own. 78 00:04:39,479 --> 00:04:43,199 First Peter is a letter written to a church that is growing 79 00:04:43,650 --> 00:04:47,820 in the midst of a hostile culture for the church that's growing. 80 00:04:48,021 --> 00:04:52,608 But it's in a culture that is growing antagonistic towards the Christian faith. 81 00:04:52,608 --> 00:04:55,795 And so Peter is writing to encourage them to keep going 82 00:04:55,795 --> 00:04:59,666 despite the fact that the world might make that hard. 83 00:04:59,666 --> 00:05:03,753 We think there are a lot of similarities between this church and the growth 84 00:05:03,753 --> 00:05:04,937 we're experiencing. 85 00:05:04,937 --> 00:05:08,658 And unfortunately, the direction that our culture is going. 86 00:05:08,658 --> 00:05:10,827 So we're looking to be inspired, 87 00:05:10,827 --> 00:05:14,781 looking to be encouraged, to be challenged by the message of First Peter. 88 00:05:14,781 --> 00:05:18,051 In fact, we're calling this series Rise Up 89 00:05:18,534 --> 00:05:21,170 because we think that's the message God's going to have for us that we need 90 00:05:21,170 --> 00:05:25,141 to, both together and individually, stand up, speak 91 00:05:25,141 --> 00:05:29,962 up, show up for what he wants to do in our world. 92 00:05:29,962 --> 00:05:34,250 But you know what I love about God as he just he understands 93 00:05:34,250 --> 00:05:37,520 us, which shouldn't surprise us since he made us. 94 00:05:38,187 --> 00:05:41,341 But he begins this letter, which in a lot of ways is like a locker 95 00:05:41,341 --> 00:05:45,378 room speech challenging us to speak up and stand up and show up. 96 00:05:45,378 --> 00:05:47,930 But he begins with encouragement. 97 00:05:47,930 --> 00:05:50,900 He begins with hope. 98 00:05:50,900 --> 00:05:53,903 And that's actually we're going to talk about, this weekend. 99 00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:55,822 And so here are the three points I'm going to use 100 00:05:55,822 --> 00:05:57,990 as an outline to guide our time together. 101 00:05:57,990 --> 00:05:59,125 Very simple. 102 00:05:59,125 --> 00:06:02,362 First, life is hard. 103 00:06:02,845 --> 00:06:05,548 Second, hope is available. 104 00:06:05,548 --> 00:06:10,503 And third, hopeful living in hard times is possible. 105 00:06:10,503 --> 00:06:11,521 Life is hard. 106 00:06:11,521 --> 00:06:14,006 Hope is available and hopeful. 107 00:06:14,006 --> 00:06:17,393 Living in hard times as possible. 108 00:06:17,543 --> 00:06:17,727 All right. 109 00:06:17,727 --> 00:06:20,730 Let me start with the first one life is hard. 110 00:06:21,264 --> 00:06:25,284 You know, we work really hard here at Christ Community Chapel 111 00:06:25,284 --> 00:06:29,939 to try to make sure that every weekend you come, you have a great experience 112 00:06:29,989 --> 00:06:33,142 and a lot of energy and time goes into thinking 113 00:06:33,142 --> 00:06:36,662 about your experience from the parking lot, how clean 114 00:06:36,662 --> 00:06:39,899 the building is to the temperature we have in the room. 115 00:06:40,016 --> 00:06:42,001 We want the music to be good. 116 00:06:42,001 --> 00:06:45,054 We want people to smile when you walk in the door. 117 00:06:45,054 --> 00:06:46,589 We want friendly people 118 00:06:46,589 --> 00:06:50,309 to help you find a seat or to find your way around the building. 119 00:06:50,460 --> 00:06:52,428 We want you to feel loved. 120 00:06:52,428 --> 00:06:56,065 And that's important to us because we believe God is a God of love. 121 00:06:56,065 --> 00:07:01,137 We believe that God loves you and we want to be an extension of that. 122 00:07:01,137 --> 00:07:06,742 We we want you to experience his love through the way you are treated. 123 00:07:06,742 --> 00:07:09,745 And we don't apologize for Polish. 124 00:07:09,979 --> 00:07:13,883 I mean, we we believe good music is better than bad music. 125 00:07:13,883 --> 00:07:16,469 My guess is you would agree. 126 00:07:16,469 --> 00:07:20,523 We believe smiling people at the door is better than grumpy people. 127 00:07:21,140 --> 00:07:21,958 At the door. 128 00:07:21,958 --> 00:07:24,861 You probably agree with that. 129 00:07:24,861 --> 00:07:28,347 But if we're not careful, sometimes I worry about 130 00:07:28,347 --> 00:07:31,701 an unintended consequence of all that polish, 131 00:07:32,869 --> 00:07:35,488 and that is that you might get the impression 132 00:07:35,488 --> 00:07:39,809 that this church is for polished people, 133 00:07:40,943 --> 00:07:43,379 that it's for kind of happy 134 00:07:43,379 --> 00:07:47,133 clappy people for whom life is perfect. 135 00:07:47,783 --> 00:07:50,553 They look perfect. They they act perfect. 136 00:07:50,553 --> 00:07:51,988 They must be perfect. 137 00:07:51,988 --> 00:07:55,975 So this church is for perfect people. 138 00:07:55,975 --> 00:08:00,079 And of course, the danger in that is that you might think that's who God is, 139 00:08:01,347 --> 00:08:04,734 that God is interested only in polished people, 140 00:08:05,334 --> 00:08:07,737 imperfect people. 141 00:08:07,737 --> 00:08:10,823 And that's why it's really important that you hear me 142 00:08:10,823 --> 00:08:14,393 say that nothing could be further from the truth. 143 00:08:14,994 --> 00:08:18,231 In fact, look here at our passage first Peter chapter one, look at verse six. 144 00:08:18,231 --> 00:08:19,582 Look what he says. 145 00:08:19,582 --> 00:08:22,585 He says in this you rejoice, 146 00:08:22,668 --> 00:08:26,372 though now for a little while, if necessary. 147 00:08:26,606 --> 00:08:30,142 You have been grieved by various trials. 148 00:08:30,326 --> 00:08:33,930 I mean, he's writing a letter to people where he's going to tell them to stand 149 00:08:33,930 --> 00:08:35,631 up, speak up, show up. 150 00:08:35,631 --> 00:08:38,634 But he starts with this 151 00:08:38,784 --> 00:08:43,105 life is hard, life is hard. 152 00:08:43,589 --> 00:08:45,591 And you know, God knows that. 153 00:08:46,676 --> 00:08:49,228 And the Bible knows that. 154 00:08:49,228 --> 00:08:50,730 Let me show you multiple times. 155 00:08:50,730 --> 00:08:54,233 The Bible says this in Psalm 4034. 156 00:08:54,233 --> 00:08:56,152 For example, David says this. 157 00:08:56,152 --> 00:08:57,653 He says, 158 00:08:57,653 --> 00:09:01,741 Psalm 43 says, as many are the afflictions of the righteous, 159 00:09:02,341 --> 00:09:05,328 many are the afflictions of the righteous. 160 00:09:05,328 --> 00:09:10,499 Here's what Jesus says in John 1633 in the world 161 00:09:10,950 --> 00:09:13,953 you will have tribulation. 162 00:09:14,070 --> 00:09:15,955 James chapter one, verse two. 163 00:09:15,955 --> 00:09:21,677 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. 164 00:09:21,677 --> 00:09:24,714 David, Jesus, James, what are they all saying? Life 165 00:09:25,948 --> 00:09:27,383 is hard. 166 00:09:27,383 --> 00:09:29,902 It's okay to say that 167 00:09:29,902 --> 00:09:32,905 it's okay to feel that 168 00:09:33,689 --> 00:09:34,757 because it's true. 169 00:09:34,757 --> 00:09:35,541 Life is hard. 170 00:09:35,541 --> 00:09:38,911 And it's hard in in big ways and in little ways in like 171 00:09:39,028 --> 00:09:43,165 national news ways and living room ways. 172 00:09:43,399 --> 00:09:47,903 Like, for example, Wednesday, I found out that there had been a 173 00:09:48,137 --> 00:09:49,789 school shooting in Colorado. 174 00:09:51,107 --> 00:09:52,491 Heartbreaking. 175 00:09:52,491 --> 00:09:54,660 All too common and heartbreaking. 176 00:09:54,660 --> 00:09:56,062 I have five kids in schools. 177 00:09:56,062 --> 00:09:59,732 That is one of the most terrifying ideas is that I can get a call 178 00:09:59,882 --> 00:10:03,452 from my school about something like that devastating. 179 00:10:04,287 --> 00:10:07,106 By Wednesday afternoon, I had heard 180 00:10:07,106 --> 00:10:10,443 of an ideological assassination that had happened. 181 00:10:12,061 --> 00:10:14,130 Awful, awful. 182 00:10:14,130 --> 00:10:17,550 Then by Wednesday evening, I had heard that on the floor 183 00:10:17,550 --> 00:10:20,336 of the United States House of Representatives, the Republicans 184 00:10:20,336 --> 00:10:24,473 and Democrats had a shouting match over which one of those incidents 185 00:10:24,690 --> 00:10:27,677 deserved a moment of silence. 186 00:10:29,462 --> 00:10:31,697 Life is hard. 187 00:10:31,697 --> 00:10:33,499 Last week 188 00:10:33,499 --> 00:10:35,217 was hard. 189 00:10:35,217 --> 00:10:36,836 But it's not just hard in the news. 190 00:10:36,836 --> 00:10:38,004 It's hard in the living room. 191 00:10:38,004 --> 00:10:41,791 I. I drove home that day, came into the living room, started talking to my three 192 00:10:41,941 --> 00:10:45,528 teenagers about what had happened, particularly with the assassination. 193 00:10:45,528 --> 00:10:50,633 And one of my kids asked me if I would retire, so that wouldn't happen to me. 194 00:10:51,834 --> 00:10:52,168 Now. I 195 00:10:52,168 --> 00:10:55,171 think they dramatically overestimate my platform. 196 00:10:56,906 --> 00:10:59,909 But you get the point. 197 00:11:00,443 --> 00:11:01,794 Then I'm driving 198 00:11:01,794 --> 00:11:05,031 to preach the Thursday night service this weekend on Hope, 199 00:11:06,082 --> 00:11:08,100 and literally minutes before I walk in the building, 200 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:11,087 I get a call from a family member to tell me he's just been diagnosed 201 00:11:11,420 --> 00:11:14,423 with pancreatic cancer. 202 00:11:14,940 --> 00:11:17,843 I hope I smile up here, 203 00:11:17,843 --> 00:11:21,347 but don't for a second think that means life is easy for me. 204 00:11:22,732 --> 00:11:24,417 Life is hard. 205 00:11:24,417 --> 00:11:25,801 Life is hard. 206 00:11:25,801 --> 00:11:28,971 It's okay to say that it's okay to feel that God 207 00:11:28,971 --> 00:11:32,958 acknowledges that he never asked us to pretend that it isn't. 208 00:11:33,025 --> 00:11:36,779 This must be a place where the music is good 209 00:11:36,862 --> 00:11:40,733 and the people smile and it's okay 210 00:11:41,667 --> 00:11:43,769 for life to be hard 211 00:11:43,769 --> 00:11:46,172 because it is. 212 00:11:46,172 --> 00:11:47,807 But here's the second thing I want you to see. 213 00:11:47,807 --> 00:11:50,810 The Bible is very honest about how hard life is. 214 00:11:50,810 --> 00:11:55,881 But second, it's very optimistic because hope is available. 215 00:11:56,182 --> 00:11:58,501 This is a passage about hope. 216 00:11:58,501 --> 00:11:59,902 We acknowledge the heart. 217 00:11:59,902 --> 00:12:04,256 He acknowledges the trials, but he he's telling them about hope. 218 00:12:04,256 --> 00:12:07,376 Verse three he says, you have been born again. 219 00:12:07,376 --> 00:12:11,781 You have been made into Christians for a living. 220 00:12:11,931 --> 00:12:12,481 Hope. 221 00:12:12,481 --> 00:12:14,700 Hope is the whole point. 222 00:12:14,700 --> 00:12:16,519 That's what he said. 223 00:12:16,519 --> 00:12:19,038 So the question, of course, is, well, well, where does hope 224 00:12:19,038 --> 00:12:22,041 come from for a Christian? 225 00:12:22,074 --> 00:12:26,579 And there are three places he tells us to look here in the passage. 226 00:12:26,579 --> 00:12:27,379 Here's the first one. 227 00:12:27,379 --> 00:12:32,701 He says, if you're here and you're a Christian, you have a story. 228 00:12:32,902 --> 00:12:36,439 Look at what he says in verse three is what he says, blessed 229 00:12:36,439 --> 00:12:40,226 be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 230 00:12:41,010 --> 00:12:43,045 According to his great mercy. 231 00:12:43,045 --> 00:12:47,583 He has caused us to be born again to a living hope 232 00:12:47,750 --> 00:12:51,887 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 233 00:12:51,887 --> 00:12:56,759 He says that the source of our hope is the story of the life 234 00:12:56,759 --> 00:13:00,896 and death and resurrection of Jesus. Why? 235 00:13:01,096 --> 00:13:06,235 Well, because when Jesus came to earth, he told us he had come from God. 236 00:13:06,235 --> 00:13:10,139 He told us that he was God here to rescue us. 237 00:13:10,222 --> 00:13:12,291 He told us he would die. 238 00:13:12,291 --> 00:13:16,195 He told us his death was the doorway 239 00:13:16,195 --> 00:13:20,299 that God was going to open to allow us to be part of what God was doing. 240 00:13:20,332 --> 00:13:22,952 He told us he would raise from the dead. 241 00:13:22,952 --> 00:13:24,720 And when Jesus did, 242 00:13:26,489 --> 00:13:28,073 he showed us that human 243 00:13:28,073 --> 00:13:31,277 history is not random. 244 00:13:32,611 --> 00:13:34,697 It's not arbitrary. 245 00:13:34,697 --> 00:13:36,932 It's not chaos. 246 00:13:36,932 --> 00:13:39,919 God is writing a story. 247 00:13:40,519 --> 00:13:43,072 He's going somewhere. 248 00:13:43,072 --> 00:13:48,177 The arc of human history is the narrative that God is writing through 249 00:13:48,177 --> 00:13:52,998 Jesus, and Jesus is the way we enter that story. 250 00:13:52,998 --> 00:13:58,671 If you're here and you're a Christian, you have a story, but that's at all. 251 00:13:58,704 --> 00:14:02,057 The second thing he says is you will inherit. 252 00:14:02,091 --> 00:14:02,875 Look at verse four. 253 00:14:02,875 --> 00:14:04,226 Look at what he says next. 254 00:14:04,226 --> 00:14:09,748 He says this two an inheritance that is imperishable, 255 00:14:09,899 --> 00:14:15,120 undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 256 00:14:15,137 --> 00:14:19,308 He says, not only is God writing a story, but the conclusion of that story. 257 00:14:19,308 --> 00:14:23,429 The climax of that story is that God is going 258 00:14:23,429 --> 00:14:27,416 to have something wonderful for for us. 259 00:14:28,167 --> 00:14:29,969 And look at the adjectives he uses. 260 00:14:29,969 --> 00:14:32,838 It's imperishable. It's undefinable. 261 00:14:32,838 --> 00:14:34,023 It's kept in heaven. 262 00:14:34,023 --> 00:14:36,292 That's even better than a safety deposit box. 263 00:14:37,409 --> 00:14:40,412 What he's saying is that what God has for us, 264 00:14:40,529 --> 00:14:43,999 what the story is leading up to, cannot be altered. 265 00:14:43,999 --> 00:14:46,652 It cannot be changed. It cannot be threatened. 266 00:14:46,652 --> 00:14:48,504 It cannot be eradicated. 267 00:14:48,504 --> 00:14:54,209 If you are here and you are a Christian, God's story is headed towards this. 268 00:14:54,326 --> 00:14:57,413 He will give you the universe 269 00:14:58,397 --> 00:15:01,400 to live with him in forever. 270 00:15:02,568 --> 00:15:05,905 Here's the third place Peter says to go for hope. 271 00:15:05,938 --> 00:15:07,523 It's pretty simple. 272 00:15:07,523 --> 00:15:11,694 He says, if it's true that God has a story of which you can be part of, 273 00:15:11,994 --> 00:15:15,748 if it's true that God has an inheritance that he wants to give you, 274 00:15:15,748 --> 00:15:20,486 then the third thing that's true is you are loved. 275 00:15:21,437 --> 00:15:23,489 Now he shows this beautifully. 276 00:15:23,489 --> 00:15:25,257 Look, think about verse four, right. 277 00:15:25,257 --> 00:15:27,977 You have an inheritance. And what does he say about the inheritance? 278 00:15:27,977 --> 00:15:32,231 He says it's under a ball that you can't get rid of it. 279 00:15:32,247 --> 00:15:33,449 It's kept in heaven. 280 00:15:33,449 --> 00:15:37,069 In other words, there is nothing that could threaten your inheritance. 281 00:15:37,069 --> 00:15:38,370 And then look at verse six. 282 00:15:38,370 --> 00:15:40,823 Keep that in mind because that's going to make verse six pop. 283 00:15:40,823 --> 00:15:42,091 Look at what he says. 284 00:15:42,091 --> 00:15:42,391 I'm sorry. 285 00:15:42,391 --> 00:15:46,195 Verse five he says, who by God's power 286 00:15:46,378 --> 00:15:49,531 are being guarded through faith 287 00:15:49,698 --> 00:15:53,268 for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 288 00:15:53,268 --> 00:15:54,169 You see what that saying? 289 00:15:54,169 --> 00:15:58,340 He's saying there is absolutely nothing that could threaten what God has for you. 290 00:15:58,407 --> 00:16:01,377 But God loves you so much and he wants you to have it so bad 291 00:16:01,377 --> 00:16:02,661 he's going to guard it for you anyway. 292 00:16:05,331 --> 00:16:07,533 So great is his love for you. 293 00:16:07,533 --> 00:16:08,567 So great is his mercy. 294 00:16:08,567 --> 00:16:11,103 So great is his kindness. 295 00:16:11,103 --> 00:16:15,024 Peter says, if you're here and you're a Christian, you have a story. 296 00:16:15,140 --> 00:16:15,624 You are. 297 00:16:15,624 --> 00:16:19,311 You will inherit and you are loved. 298 00:16:19,311 --> 00:16:23,649 He says, listen, I know life is hard, but these things are true. 299 00:16:23,666 --> 00:16:27,169 And by the way, if you're here and you're not yet a Christian, you 300 00:16:27,202 --> 00:16:29,488 you maybe you don't know where you are, but you know you're not. 301 00:16:29,488 --> 00:16:32,458 That when I say if you're here and you're a Christian, these things 302 00:16:32,458 --> 00:16:35,160 that's not meant to exclude you, it's meant simply to say this. 303 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,030 You can have all three of those things in Jesus right now. 304 00:16:38,030 --> 00:16:41,033 If you ask. 305 00:16:41,150 --> 00:16:42,151 Because the way to have 306 00:16:42,151 --> 00:16:45,988 those things is to acknowledge your sin before God, to find 307 00:16:45,988 --> 00:16:49,908 forgiveness in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. 308 00:16:49,908 --> 00:16:51,960 The hope that God is writing a story. 309 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:56,665 Maybe the events of this week drove you into church looking for hope. 310 00:16:56,665 --> 00:16:57,716 And here it is. 311 00:16:59,118 --> 00:17:00,719 It's Jesus 312 00:17:00,719 --> 00:17:05,040 and the story and inheritance and love that he gives us. 313 00:17:05,724 --> 00:17:08,027 Now, of course, here's what I'm worried. 314 00:17:08,027 --> 00:17:12,231 You hear me saying that as Christians, we hold life being hard 315 00:17:12,231 --> 00:17:16,285 in one hand over here, and then in this hand we hold hope. 316 00:17:16,285 --> 00:17:19,621 And both of those things are true here in the present. 317 00:17:19,621 --> 00:17:23,492 We have hard things, and in the future we'll have hope. 318 00:17:23,992 --> 00:17:26,545 But that isn't really helpful. 319 00:17:26,545 --> 00:17:29,631 A hope that is theoretical only in the future. 320 00:17:29,665 --> 00:17:33,235 Esoteric is not help, but what we want to do is take these two things 321 00:17:34,503 --> 00:17:36,355 and mash them together. 322 00:17:36,355 --> 00:17:40,592 Which is why my third point is that hope for living 323 00:17:40,709 --> 00:17:43,879 in hard times is possible. 324 00:17:43,879 --> 00:17:44,630 In other words, 325 00:17:44,630 --> 00:17:49,852 this hope that Peter is telling us about is meant to change the way we live. 326 00:17:49,852 --> 00:17:51,620 Well. Well, how would that happen? 327 00:17:52,588 --> 00:17:53,238 Well, the answer to 328 00:17:53,238 --> 00:17:56,241 that is in each one of those three things, let me show you what I mean. 329 00:17:57,142 --> 00:18:02,548 If it's true that in Jesus you have a story, then here's what that means. 330 00:18:02,848 --> 00:18:07,820 The difficult things you're experiencing right now are a chapter. 331 00:18:08,821 --> 00:18:11,457 They're not the ending. 332 00:18:11,457 --> 00:18:13,942 They're a chapter. 333 00:18:13,942 --> 00:18:15,527 They're not the ending. 334 00:18:15,527 --> 00:18:17,629 Now, I don't mean it's not a hard chapter. 335 00:18:17,629 --> 00:18:20,783 That's of course, I don't mean that it isn't a long chapter. 336 00:18:20,783 --> 00:18:24,686 I don't even mean that for some of us, it's been several chapters. 337 00:18:24,686 --> 00:18:27,873 But what Peter is saying is whatever, however hard 338 00:18:27,873 --> 00:18:31,260 the chapter you're in, it is just a chapter. 339 00:18:31,410 --> 00:18:33,028 It is not the ending. 340 00:18:33,028 --> 00:18:36,799 You see, if the universe is random, if human history is just chaos, 341 00:18:36,899 --> 00:18:40,569 then it's entirely possible that your diagnosis that 342 00:18:40,586 --> 00:18:45,090 that your divorce, that your unemployment, that your addiction, that your struggle 343 00:18:45,090 --> 00:18:48,744 with mental and emotional health might just be your ending. 344 00:18:48,861 --> 00:18:52,047 But if life goes on, if Jesus shows us 345 00:18:52,047 --> 00:18:55,067 that God is writing a story into eternity, 346 00:18:55,167 --> 00:18:59,421 then no matter how bad the chapter, it's just a chapter. 347 00:18:59,421 --> 00:19:00,355 It's not the ending. 348 00:19:01,323 --> 00:19:02,574 Let me illustrate this. 349 00:19:02,574 --> 00:19:05,661 Have you ever watched a movie with a really little kid? 350 00:19:07,412 --> 00:19:10,949 It's a funny experience because they don't understand stories yet, 351 00:19:11,450 --> 00:19:14,653 so even if you're watching a kid's movie, there will be a 352 00:19:14,753 --> 00:19:17,940 couple of scenes where it looks like the bad guy is going to win. 353 00:19:18,557 --> 00:19:20,425 That's I mean, that's how you build a plot. 354 00:19:20,425 --> 00:19:22,127 That's how you drive tension. 355 00:19:22,127 --> 00:19:23,879 And the kid will feel smothered by the. 356 00:19:23,879 --> 00:19:26,732 At one point, events just happened with all five of my kids. 357 00:19:26,732 --> 00:19:28,817 They will say, pause it, pause it, pause it. 358 00:19:28,817 --> 00:19:30,619 I don't want to watch this anymore. 359 00:19:30,619 --> 00:19:33,622 And they're looking at you like, what kind of parent are you? 360 00:19:34,706 --> 00:19:35,841 Is this how the world? 361 00:19:35,841 --> 00:19:37,192 Is this what you're trying to tell me? 362 00:19:37,192 --> 00:19:40,679 That in the end, the witch wins or the the bad guy wins? 363 00:19:40,829 --> 00:19:43,398 Is this the kind of world we have? 364 00:19:43,398 --> 00:19:45,500 I don't want to watch this. This is awful. 365 00:19:46,952 --> 00:19:48,020 And that's when you look down at them 366 00:19:48,020 --> 00:19:51,023 with a twinkle in your eye and a smile, and you say, hey, hey, 367 00:19:51,924 --> 00:19:53,809 hang in there. 368 00:19:53,809 --> 00:19:56,812 It gets better. 369 00:19:56,845 --> 00:19:57,696 Friends, do you see that? 370 00:19:57,696 --> 00:19:59,882 That's what Peter is saying. 371 00:19:59,882 --> 00:20:02,818 See, some of us are in the midst of really hard chapters, 372 00:20:02,818 --> 00:20:05,270 really hard scenes, and we've hit the pause button 373 00:20:05,270 --> 00:20:07,105 and we're saying, I don't want to keep moving. 374 00:20:07,105 --> 00:20:09,508 I don't want to go on. Is this how life is? 375 00:20:09,508 --> 00:20:12,444 And Peter is saying, unpause the movie. 376 00:20:12,444 --> 00:20:14,179 It doesn't end this way. 377 00:20:14,179 --> 00:20:15,864 The bad guy doesn't win. 378 00:20:15,864 --> 00:20:18,684 The bad stuff isn't true in the end. 379 00:20:18,684 --> 00:20:19,585 Hang in there. 380 00:20:19,585 --> 00:20:22,588 It's a chapter, but it's not the ending. 381 00:20:24,089 --> 00:20:27,559 Second, Peter says, if it's true that you will inherit, 382 00:20:28,610 --> 00:20:33,498 then the flaws you are sweeping today, you will own tomorrow. 383 00:20:34,900 --> 00:20:36,568 Now here's what I mean by I want you to visualize. 384 00:20:36,568 --> 00:20:38,937 You walk into a business, 385 00:20:38,937 --> 00:20:41,873 you know, late in the evening, second shift, and you see a young man 386 00:20:41,873 --> 00:20:45,077 sweeping the floors and he's whistling and you think, well, this is 387 00:20:45,110 --> 00:20:46,278 this is interesting. 388 00:20:46,278 --> 00:20:49,348 So you stop the guy and you go, hey, man, do you like working second shift? 389 00:20:49,381 --> 00:20:51,450 He goes, no, I hate it, I hate it. 390 00:20:51,450 --> 00:20:52,801 Do you like sweeping floors? 391 00:20:52,801 --> 00:20:54,002 Because, no, it's the worst. 392 00:20:54,002 --> 00:20:55,971 It's the worst. Well, why are you so happy? 393 00:20:55,971 --> 00:20:56,638 Why are you whistling? 394 00:20:56,638 --> 00:21:01,193 And he says, well, this is my family business, and one day I'm going to own it. 395 00:21:01,193 --> 00:21:04,196 My dad just says, I have to start here. 396 00:21:05,063 --> 00:21:09,001 Is he one of the reasons life is hard is because it's so full of disappointment. 397 00:21:10,202 --> 00:21:13,021 It's so full of all the things we're not going to get to do, 398 00:21:13,021 --> 00:21:14,940 all the things we're not going to get to be. 399 00:21:14,940 --> 00:21:16,291 I tell my kids all the time. 400 00:21:16,291 --> 00:21:18,060 This is the hardest part of getting older. 401 00:21:18,060 --> 00:21:19,978 I think, 402 00:21:19,978 --> 00:21:24,116 is all the doors that close, all the things you won't be, 403 00:21:24,116 --> 00:21:27,602 all the experiences you won't have, all the places you won't go. 404 00:21:27,602 --> 00:21:30,505 But the Bible tells us, well, let me come back to that. 405 00:21:30,505 --> 00:21:32,190 Let me say this. 406 00:21:32,190 --> 00:21:35,127 There is a danger in being a Christian who's 407 00:21:35,127 --> 00:21:38,513 too preoccupied with the end of the world. 408 00:21:39,865 --> 00:21:42,301 You can go down that YouTube rabbit hole. 409 00:21:42,301 --> 00:21:45,287 You can watch all the. 410 00:21:47,723 --> 00:21:48,774 Stuff. 411 00:21:48,774 --> 00:21:51,827 You can watch all these videos on when Jesus is going to come back 412 00:21:51,827 --> 00:21:54,212 and who the bad guys are and all that. Let me just tell you this. 413 00:21:54,212 --> 00:21:55,230 Let me invalidate that. 414 00:21:55,230 --> 00:21:59,718 All those videos in one single sentence and tell you that Jesus said, was he 415 00:21:59,718 --> 00:22:00,602 when he was on earth? 416 00:22:00,602 --> 00:22:03,355 Even he didn't know the day he was coming back. 417 00:22:03,355 --> 00:22:05,457 So I don't know if that YouTuber knows more than Jesus. 418 00:22:05,457 --> 00:22:06,558 I'll let you decide that. 419 00:22:09,111 --> 00:22:09,594 But there's a 420 00:22:09,594 --> 00:22:12,597 danger in under thinking about those things too. 421 00:22:13,832 --> 00:22:16,501 And what I mean by that is the Bible doesn't say that heaven 422 00:22:16,501 --> 00:22:18,320 is us floating around in the sky. 423 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:19,821 We're in diapers, playing harps. 424 00:22:19,821 --> 00:22:22,824 I mean, if that's your idea of a good time, that's a you thing. 425 00:22:22,858 --> 00:22:24,593 Not for me. 426 00:22:24,593 --> 00:22:26,628 What the Bible says is at the end of the world, 427 00:22:26,628 --> 00:22:29,631 God is going to take heaven and earth and make them one, 428 00:22:29,781 --> 00:22:32,751 and he's going to rid the earth of all the damage that we've caused. 429 00:22:32,751 --> 00:22:35,153 He's going to give it back to us, 430 00:22:35,153 --> 00:22:37,406 and he's going to tell us now you have an eternity 431 00:22:37,406 --> 00:22:42,511 with me to do it all again, to build, to shape, to create. 432 00:22:42,511 --> 00:22:43,428 You know what that means. 433 00:22:43,428 --> 00:22:46,048 That means that all the things you don't get to do in this life, 434 00:22:47,366 --> 00:22:47,666 you can 435 00:22:47,666 --> 00:22:50,669 dedicate centuries to in the life to come. 436 00:22:50,936 --> 00:22:51,837 Let me put it this way. 437 00:22:51,837 --> 00:22:55,190 Every February I get away to go spend some time with pastor 438 00:22:55,190 --> 00:22:58,860 friends of mine who are about my age, churches of similar size. 439 00:22:58,860 --> 00:23:00,529 The idea swamp hang out. 440 00:23:00,529 --> 00:23:04,015 Every February I leave Ohio to go to Southern California. 441 00:23:04,466 --> 00:23:07,469 It's hard, but someone has to do it. 442 00:23:08,387 --> 00:23:12,257 And you know, some people think it's great that here in Ohio we have four seasons. 443 00:23:12,257 --> 00:23:13,458 My wife is one of those people. 444 00:23:13,458 --> 00:23:15,477 So to her, when she thinks about the new heavens 445 00:23:15,477 --> 00:23:18,780 and the earth, she thinks of it as four seasons in Southern California. 446 00:23:18,780 --> 00:23:19,948 They only have one season. 447 00:23:19,948 --> 00:23:22,317 It's called perfection. 448 00:23:22,317 --> 00:23:24,920 So every time I come back from that trip, I tell my wife, 449 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:26,571 hey, if you're looking for me in the new heavens, 450 00:23:26,571 --> 00:23:28,190 new earth, I'm going to be in Southern California. 451 00:23:29,191 --> 00:23:30,859 I live in Ohio for Jesus, but 452 00:23:30,859 --> 00:23:33,862 if I get to pick, I'm in San Diego. 453 00:23:35,063 --> 00:23:37,165 But you see, that's the point, isn't it? 454 00:23:37,165 --> 00:23:39,618 Friends, God has an eternity for you. 455 00:23:39,618 --> 00:23:43,405 And I in this universe made new with her. 456 00:23:44,372 --> 00:23:46,858 You might be sweeping floors today, 457 00:23:46,858 --> 00:23:49,861 but you're going to own the universe 458 00:23:50,245 --> 00:23:51,830 in the future. 459 00:23:51,830 --> 00:23:52,998 And then here's the third thing. 460 00:23:52,998 --> 00:23:55,967 Of course, if all that's true, 461 00:23:55,967 --> 00:23:57,836 then here's what that means. 462 00:23:57,836 --> 00:24:00,839 I don't know what hard chapter you're in, 463 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,643 and I. 464 00:24:06,628 --> 00:24:08,730 As your pastor, it's going to be my privilege 465 00:24:08,730 --> 00:24:11,716 to sit with many of you as you die. 466 00:24:13,802 --> 00:24:15,620 And you're going to ask me, 467 00:24:15,620 --> 00:24:18,623 and your family is going to ask me why, 468 00:24:19,074 --> 00:24:20,158 and I'll just tell you in advance. 469 00:24:20,158 --> 00:24:21,560 I'm not always going to know. 470 00:24:24,229 --> 00:24:27,032 But if it's true that you're loved, 471 00:24:27,032 --> 00:24:30,302 then what I will do is take some wives off the table. 472 00:24:32,154 --> 00:24:35,157 It won't be because you're being ignored. 473 00:24:36,208 --> 00:24:39,211 It won't be because you've been forgotten. 474 00:24:40,078 --> 00:24:42,147 It won't be 475 00:24:42,147 --> 00:24:44,132 because you aren't loved. 476 00:24:44,132 --> 00:24:48,803 Because Peter says the whole story is about God's love. 477 00:24:49,187 --> 00:24:52,190 The whole climax is when he gives you everything. 478 00:24:52,307 --> 00:24:54,292 So of course you're loved. 479 00:24:54,292 --> 00:24:57,562 Living in hard times with hope isn't pretend. 480 00:24:57,829 --> 00:24:58,914 Life isn't hard. 481 00:24:58,914 --> 00:25:03,201 Living in hard times with hope says, I don't know why last week happened, 482 00:25:03,201 --> 00:25:04,736 but I can tell you why it isn't. 483 00:25:04,736 --> 00:25:07,739 It isn't because God doesn't care. 484 00:25:09,891 --> 00:25:12,661 Because I've got a story. 485 00:25:12,661 --> 00:25:15,380 I've got an inheritance. 486 00:25:15,380 --> 00:25:17,883 And I know 487 00:25:17,883 --> 00:25:19,918 that I am loved. 488 00:25:19,918 --> 00:25:22,921 Let me pray for you, father God. 489 00:25:23,972 --> 00:25:26,658 Thank you for the challenge of first Peter that is coming. 490 00:25:27,859 --> 00:25:28,643 I know 491 00:25:28,643 --> 00:25:31,463 your message for us as a church, for me 492 00:25:31,463 --> 00:25:34,883 as a leader, is going to be that we need to step up, 493 00:25:36,301 --> 00:25:38,904 show up, speak up. 494 00:25:38,904 --> 00:25:41,790 Rise up. 495 00:25:41,790 --> 00:25:45,026 But God, in your kindness, you don't even start with that. 496 00:25:45,860 --> 00:25:47,329 You start with hope. 497 00:25:47,329 --> 00:25:48,780 You start with encouragement. 498 00:25:48,780 --> 00:25:51,983 You start by saying, I know, I know, life is hard, 499 00:25:51,983 --> 00:25:54,986 but don't you for a second think you're not loved. 500 00:25:57,355 --> 00:26:00,358 God, we are amazed by your kindness to us, 501 00:26:02,127 --> 00:26:04,496 and we ask that you would help us to become 502 00:26:04,496 --> 00:26:07,499 hopeful people 503 00:26:07,499 --> 00:26:09,651 living in hard times. 504 00:26:09,651 --> 00:26:11,870 In Jesus name we pray. Amen.