Finding Hope - Week 3
April 19, 2009
When Things Are Uncertain
1 Peter 1:6-9

In the past few weeks we have been talking about finding hope. "Where can we find hope?" And God’s Word is directing us to the source of our hope as Christ followers.

 

 

No matter what happens, You matter to God – you have been chosen, loved, you are special to him! He went to great lengths to draw you to himself: Father plan, Son’s sacrifice, Holy Spirit’s work

No matter what happens, God has given you a "living hope" - hope for now and hope for eternity. He has given you a promise that he will be with you, will intervene on your behalf, and he has already prepared a place for you in heaven that will never change, and you have got a reservation!

Today I want to talk about how to find hope when things are uncertain. (1 Peter 1.6-9) Relevant question – we are facing a great deal of uncertainty. There isn’t a lunch appt that goes by that we don’t talk about the economy, uncertainty of our country, hitting it on all side. Many people in our church family have lost jobs, looking for work, future is uncertain. I talk with people who are facing illnesses, family crisis, they can’t see anyway out of it. How do you find hope when things are so uncertain?

Peter was addressing Christians that were facing uncertain times too. Persecution was being unleashed on Christians. Marginalized, unwarranted hatred, blamed for the ills of the Roman nation, seen as exclusive, unpatriotic, disloyal to the Emperor because they worshipped another king called Jesus.

Persecution under Nero was particularly brutal.

That persecution was spreading –things were scary, uncertain

What does he tell them?

"

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." I Peter 1.6-9

I want to give you some straight teaching from God’s word to help you know how to handle the crisis in your life – something you can trust, hold on to, put your whole weight on and lean on in your difficult moments.

An Inconvenient Truth

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." I Peter 1.6

"in this you greatly rejoice" –

refers to the words that came before, our assurance of heaven (hope that we have in Christ).

The inconvenient truth is that in this life we are going to face all kinds of trials.

Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16.33

This verse tells us some important things about trials.

• Trials are for a season
- "now for a little while" – trials are for a season, not permanent, but come on us

• Trials are for a purpose
-"you may have had to suffer" – "if necessary" – God has a purpose behind it, God is going to use this season to teach you, shape you, mold you, grow you up

• Trials are painful
- "suffer grief" – "distress", heaviness, - its real, painful, hurts, same as Jesus in garden

• Trials come in various ways
- "all kinds of trials" – (poikilos) multifaceted, multicolored, various kinds, variety. Same words used of God’s grace I Peter 4.10 speaking of God’s grace. For every trial, God’s grace is available to carry us through it.

Why do trails come into our lives?

"These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." I Peter 1.7

They prove the genuineness of our faith

"These have come so that your faith…may be proved genuine…"

 

One reason, is that trials come so that your faith in God, your relationship to Christ, will be tested and proved to be the real thing, genuine. Underline "these have come so that your faith – now put a parenthesis (of greater worth than, gold which perishes even thought refined by fire) – end parenthesis – underline "may be proved genuine."

"These have come so that your faith—[of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire] may be proved genuine…"

(I took a geology class in college, had to identify over one hundred different rocks and minerals. Tests: Scratch, visual, touch, smell, taste test – acid test, illustration of hydrochloric acid to test on Limestone – it fuzzes up) The acid simply revealed what the rock was made of. Depending on the composition of the rock it reacted to the acid differently.

The purpose of trial is to prove your faith genuine and to show genuine faith to others

Trouble, trials, suffering, grief, simply show what your made of.

When you face problems, do you hold on to God’s promises? Do you cry out to him? Do you surround yourself with godly people? Do you believe God? Trust God? Depend on God? Are you determined to follow him regardless of the circumstances or consequences? Or when troubles comes, do you fall away? Do you get angry, bitter, resentful? Do you refuse to read his word, refuse to be with Christian people, do you pull into a shell?

How you handle trouble is a test to see how you are walking with God. It tells whether you have a genuine faith in Christ or your just giving lip service to God.

The Bible tells us about this.

Two examples:

Luke 8.13 "Those on the rock are those who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away."

I John 2.19 "They went out from us but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."

They grow us up

"…your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire…"

Peter uses a word picture here of gold being refined.

Smelting: Exposing gold to high temperatures for the purpose of purifying. Gold is often exposed to temperatures in excess of it’s melting point, between 1200-1400 Celsius – it is held at the main temperature for around 1.5 hours to insure separation from impurities. Impurities that rise to the top is called "slag". Just as heat separates the gold from the slag, trails bubble up to the surface things in our lives that need to be dealt with.

"

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness…" Malachi 3.3

"…when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Job 23.10

 

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

They result in praise when Jesus appears

Romans 5.3-4

"These have come so that your faith… may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

When Christ comes back, "roll the tape"- review how you have handled these trials.

If you trust God in them – hold on to him –they you will see how God has sustained you, carried you through those hard times and it will result in praise to God. "I didn’t see it at the time, you where there!"

But here is an amazing truth, not only will God be praised, but so will you! There will be an applause of heaven, standing ovation when God sees his children trust him in the most difficult of circumstances. These are the hardest times of our lives, these are the greatest times of in our lives to trust God! (I Cor 3.13 – life tested, rewards revealed…well done!)

Story of Peter’s death – legend he escaped "Where are you going Lord? I’m going to be crucified again because you won’t" Peter hung upside down as a testimony of his devotion to Jesus. Can you imagine when they roll the tape of his life the celebration? The same can happen for you!

So what do I do now?

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him [present continuous tense, habitual activity, ongoing confidence in God’s trustworthiness] and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." I Peter 1.8-9

circle these words

"love him" – Just draw close to Jesus, love him for what he had done. Love him no matter what. No matter if he never does another good thing for you, love him!

"believe in him" – trust that he is going to take care of you, hold on to his promises, set your face on Jesus – it’s a present continuous tense, habit, ongoing confidence in God’s trustworthiness in your life.

"glorious joy" – choose joy in your life, instead of discouragement choose joy. Instead of a critical spirit, choose joy. Instead of bitterness, choose joy. Instead of confusion, choose joy! God is with you! He chose you. He redeemed you. You are new in Christ! He has reserved a place in heaven for you! Choose joy!