WEBVTT 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:05.759 Let's look at 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 3 through 9. 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:09.599 I wonder if you can guess what we're going to talk about this morning. 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:16.800 Yes, the title of today's message is A Living Hope. 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:18.000 A Living Hope. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:21.679 So let's look at 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 3 through 9. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:29.199 And this is where we're going to gather our uh important information from the scriptures that we're going to dissect together. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:33.439 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:01:00.880 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. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:27.120 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the uh 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. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:29.840 Though you have not seen him, you love him. 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:45.760 Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcoming of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:47.439 Let us pray together. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:51.200 Father, we thank you for what you've already accomplished in this morning. 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:52.799 You woke us up this morning. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.040 You caused there to be breath in our lungs. 00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:03.359 You gave us the ability to gather together in this place as one family, one body, as a part of the larger body of Christ. 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:12.319 Lord, you allowed us to enjoy a rich time of praising and worshiping you with all of our hearts, our souls, and our minds. 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:28.639 And Lord, now as we begin to open your word together, we ask that you would cause your word to come alive on the inside of us, that it would not just be something that we read and forget or that we get excited about in the moment, and then later on it fades away. 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:38.639 Father, we ask that this word would be an enduring word for us, that it would produce the type of crop that you desire for it to produce in each and every one of our lives. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:41.840 And we give you glory for it in Jesus' name. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:42.719 Amen. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:43.599 Amen. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:50.400 So when you hear the word hope in this life, in this world, most of the time, what are you thinking of? 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.479 You're thinking of a wish. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:56.400 Like, I hope that it doesn't rain on Easter. 00:02:56.400 --> 00:03:00.240 Or I hope that it's warm on Easter. 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:03.360 Or I hope that, you know, on and on. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:04.800 I hope that I pass the test. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:05.840 I hope that whatever. 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:08.159 I hope that I'm, I hope that I grow taller. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:09.599 I hope that I grow smaller. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:11.360 I hope, I hope, I hope. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:12.000 Right? 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:13.759 So that's the world's kind of hope. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:22.560 And honestly, there's another kind of a little bit more negative side to hope in this world, and that is hope that is based on things that are temporal. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:33.599 So hope that's based on money or based on uh status or based on power or fame or any other things that we could name that people base their hope on, right? 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:38.240 As long as there's a certain amount of money in our checking account, we have hope. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:48.080 But if that if those dollars begin to shrink and things begin to change in that aspect of our lives, then it begins to cause us to lose hope, right? 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.919 Now, the Bible kind of hope is different than the hope of this world. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:53.919 Aren't you glad for that? 00:03:53.919 --> 00:04:08.639 In our Bible passage today, in this beautiful sort of doxology, the Holy Spirit uses Peter to spell out for us what living hope is, what it looks like, and how it, how to apply it to our lives, past, present, and future. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:10.960 So let me give you a definition for living hope. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:13.840 And this is by no means an exhaustive definition. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:16.000 This is just one that we can work with today. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:27.680 So living hope is a confident expectation, a confident expectation of God's blessing based on his promises. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:36.319 How many of you have proved out in your life that God is true and faithful to his word and to his promises? 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:40.000 And that is what our living hope is based upon. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:49.680 It's based upon the fact that God speaks, he speaks blessing, he speaks promise, and he fulfills that which he speaks, right? 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:55.920 One of the reasons that we're here today is because he blessed us with a new covenant in Jesus Christ. 00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:00.480 And we're going to talk about some of the elements of that as we move through this sermon this morning. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:06.160 And because of that new covenant, we have right standing with God because of Jesus Christ. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:08.720 So we have confident expectation. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:14.959 Unlike the empty, dead hope of this world, this living hope is energizing. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:20.079 It's alive, it's active in the soul of every true believer in Jesus. 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:23.120 Are you experiencing living hope here this morning? 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:24.160 Amen. 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:28.959 If you aren't yet, I believe that you will by the time that you leave these doors this morning. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:35.120 It is an undying and permanent hope that is not based upon circumstances or situations. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:38.319 It's not based upon how you feel or you don't feel. 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:42.240 This is a hope that's based on him, not on us. 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:44.959 And that's a hope that we can count on. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:46.879 So where does this hope come from? 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:52.399 It says in our passage that Father God is the source of our living hope. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:57.439 Remember what it says: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:08.720 The passage starts with turning our attention to the God who is worthy of all blessing and glory and honor and power and praise and dominion. 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:10.160 I could go on and on. 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:16.000 He alone is the one who loved us enough to give us his son. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.000 And we could quote it together this morning. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:28.800 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:33.360 How great the Father's love is for us. 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:35.120 Amen. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:42.079 And that is why we're here today, and that is what gives us the ability to experience living hope. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:47.439 Now notice that in this passage, one of the few places that the full name of Jesus is listed. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:50.560 And I just want to quickly point to the three parts of it. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:52.480 So the first one is Lord. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:59.839 Lord means that Jesus is the sovereign one with the exclusive right to rule in hearts and lives. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:02.480 Is he the Lord of your life this morning? 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:08.560 Okay, um, we're gonna decide on that as we move along because that was not very strong. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:12.079 The second thing, he is also Jesus. 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:16.800 Jesus is the savior who saves his people from their sins. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:18.800 Is he your savior this morning? 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:20.079 Amen. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:22.480 Wow, okay, savior, yes. 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:24.000 Lord, we're working on. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:24.800 All right. 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:28.639 And the third one, the third one is he is Christ. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:39.759 He is God's anointed one, the Messiah sent from heaven to restore mankind to God, and he has been exalted to heaven's highest place. 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:41.600 That is it. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:46.000 Do you believe this morning that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:46.720 Amen. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:53.519 So we know that God, in all of his love for us, is the source of living hope. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:56.000 And what was God's motive for doing this? 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.360 It's mercy. 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:03.279 The motive of our living hope, that God, God's motive for our living hope is mercy. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:06.959 It says, according to his great mercy. 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:10.399 How many of you know mercy is not something that we deserve? 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:15.680 In fact, mercy is giving us the opposite of what we deserve. 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:27.279 And all of us deserve, if we were to get the just reward for the sins that we've committed, all of us deserve to die and to be separated from God forever. 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:37.360 But how many of you know his mercy made a way for us to not have to do that, but to be restored into right relationship with him through Jesus Christ. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:40.799 That's how great our Father's love is for us. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:42.240 And why do we need this? 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:46.159 Ephesians 2 clears it out very uh spells it out very clearly. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:51.120 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:52.960 This is our story, by the way. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:55.039 This is our testimony. 00:08:55.039 --> 00:09:16.879 Following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:18.399 Let's just stop right there. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:20.480 Is that the end of the passage? 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:24.559 What are the next two words? 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:40.240 But God, but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:44.159 By grace, you have been saved. 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:47.200 This is the good news this morning. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:53.759 This is the truth that we proclaim to you from the word of God, from the mouth of God Himself. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:57.360 You see, the reality is that all of us have a past. 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:03.600 All of us have a category in our lives, a chapter in our books that we could call BC. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:05.679 What does BC stand for? 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:07.200 Before Christ. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.200 All of us have that story. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:12.399 All of us have that as a part of our lives. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:16.000 As sinners, we had no hope beyond the grave, like I said before. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:23.440 We were separated from a holy God, and we had no way of bridging the gap between us. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:36.960 But thanks be to God, because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, God found a righteous basis upon which he can save ungodly sinners and still be just himself. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:45.440 Christ Himself has paid the penalty for our sins. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:53.600 Christ Jesus Himself paid the penalty for full satisfaction has been made. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:57.279 Our debt has been paid in full. 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:04.399 The claims of justice have been met, and now mercy can flow out to those who obey the gospel. 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:12.399 We can participate in the merciful plan of God by obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:16.720 And we're going to talk about that again more as we move through this message. 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:19.039 So, what did God save us to? 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.919 He saved us to a living hope. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:23.759 God saved us to a living hope. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:29.360 He said, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:32.639 The theological word for this is regeneration. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:34.799 Regeneration is new birth. 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:41.840 We use several uh terms that you can mix together or use independently of each other, interdependently, right? 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:43.759 You can use them to replace each other. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:45.440 Trying to find the right wording. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:48.799 So regeneration, new birth, being born again. 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:56.480 It's when the Holy Spirit imparts spiritual life to a spiritually dead sinner. 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:06.480 Creating a new heart and enabling them, us, to put our trust in Jesus Christ. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:13.440 This is the work of our Heavenly Father through Jesus by the Holy Spirit. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:30.159 The spiritual, holy, and heavenly birth results in us being made alive to God and restored to right relationship with Him by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who conquered death, hell, and the grave. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:36.559 Help me out a little this morning. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:38.799 This is resurrection day. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:43.279 The resurrection of Jesus itself is the reason for our hope. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:48.960 And so many times, rightfully so, we talk about the power of the cross and the importance of the cross. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:51.600 And please don't mishear me this morning. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:53.919 That is absolutely fundamental. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:58.159 That is absolutely a foundational part of our salvation. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:01.600 But let's not forget the power of God as well. 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:12.159 The power of God that causes a dead person, a dead man, dead in sins and trespasses, to be made alive unto God once again. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:17.039 The resurrection of Jesus is the reason for our living hope. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:24.799 He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:29.679 We know that Jesus was brutally murdered on a cross. 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:42.480 We know that before that, that he was lied about, that he was mocked, that he was spit upon, that his beard was ripped out, that he was beaten beyond belief, that a crown of thorns was placed on his head. 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:47.679 We know that he was forced to carry his own cross until he couldn't carry it any longer. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:56.399 And then Simon the Sirene had the privilege and honor, although at the time may not have known what it was to help carry the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:13:56.399 --> 00:14:05.679 We know that Jesus himself was laid down upon the old rugged cross and those spikes were driven into his hands and his feet. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:12.799 We know that that cross was raised up, bridging a gap between heaven and earth. 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:20.639 And we know that Jesus, when he was on that cross, cried out, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:36.559 And finally, his final words, it is finished, declaring that the price had been paid, that the victory had been won, and that death no longer had a grip over those who had put their faith in Jesus Christ. 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:41.519 This is the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:57.600 We know that after his death, that he was taken down from the cross, that he was laid in a borrowed tomb, and there was a stone that was rolled in front of the tomb to ensure that nobody could come and steal him, as uh steal him away. 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:17.039 A garrison of soldiers was sent to guard the tomb because the religious leaders were paranoid because they had heard rumors about the fact that in three days something was going to happen, and so they did everything within their power to try to keep the body of Jesus contained within a borrowed tomb. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:27.679 And I want you to know, Neil and I and many others in this room have been to Israel, and I have been to the very garden tomb that they say that the body of Jesus was laid in. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:37.919 I walked into that tomb, I looked around it, I inspected it as best as I could, and I'm here to tell you this morning, Jesus is not there. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:45.360 He is alive. 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.879 And we're gonna read this passage from Matthew 28. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:56.080 Now, after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:58.879 And behold, there was a great earthquake. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:05.840 For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:08.399 I love that bold move. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:13.840 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:19.600 And the fear of him, for the fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:21.360 But who's dead now? 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:29.200 But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:34.240 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:36.799 Come see the place where he lay. 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:42.000 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:45.440 And behold, he is going before you to Galilee. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:46.960 There you will see him. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:48.639 See, I have told you. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:55.120 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:59.360 And behold, Jesus met them and said, Greetings. 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:03.279 And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:06.319 And Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:12.000 Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:20.480 My friends, Jesus Christ of Nazareth may have been dead, and we know that he was. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:23.599 But how many of you know he didn't stay dead? 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:25.279 He didn't stay dead. 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:33.200 The same God that breathed life into Adam breathed life into the second Adam, and he rose again from the dead. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:41.279 And if that's not proof enough, these passages that we have, we know that he was seen by over 500 people before he ascended into heaven. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:46.240 The living Christ is the one who makes a living hope possible. 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:54.480 In the resurrection, God revealed his complete satisfaction with the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:18:02.799 And once again, it proved that he has been given authority over death, hell, and the grave. 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:06.000 This is the gospel. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:10.960 You see, the resurrection is the Father's Amen to our Lord's cry. 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:12.160 It is finished. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:35.759 Our Heavenly Father, just as He had done many times before, in opening the heavens and saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased, He did it once more in a grand scale by raising his son from the dead, proving that the sacrifice was enough and that it was accepted and that we could be free forevermore. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:40.240 The reality is because Jesus lives, we can live. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:44.640 Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can be resurrected. 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:49.440 Jesus, as our conquering king, did not just regain life for himself. 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:51.599 That would have been miracle enough. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:19:12.720 That would have been amazing enough, but he was raised from the dead as a sort of first fruit of many others who would come, including those who are sitting in this room and millions of people around the globe who are together raising voices and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ this very day. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:19.519 He is our conquering king, and he came to give us life and life more abundantly. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:34.799 Romans 6 says, we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:44.000 For we have been united, if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:50.160 How many of you have experienced the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in your life? 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.880 How many of you are made alive unto God? 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:57.359 How many of you can say, because Jesus lives, I live. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:19:58.880 Come on. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:00.319 Amen. 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:04.240 Also, we can have living hope for the future. 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:10.319 This living hope reaches back into our past and reached us when we had no way to reach Him. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:14.079 This living hope also reaches forward into the future. 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:22.079 It says to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept in heaven for you. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:33.759 Not only do we get to experience the resurrection power of our God here in this earth, but there is something far greater awaiting us in the near future, God willing. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:41.200 And not only hope uh have we been given the gracious gift of salvation, we've also been promised a future inheritance. 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:47.359 Look at these descriptive words so we can help kind of understand what this inheritance is like. 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:49.039 It's imperishable. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:51.519 What does it mean that something's imperishable? 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:56.720 It can never corrode, it will never crack, it can never decay. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:58.480 It's everlasting. 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:04.319 It is undefiled, which means nothing can tarnish it or stain its purity. 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:06.319 It's perfect in every way. 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:12.480 It is unfading, it will never lose its value, glory, or beauty. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:16.400 This is the kind of inheritance that is waiting for us. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:21.920 This is the kind of inheritance that we look forward to participating in someday. 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.000 Are you excited for that this morning? 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:24.960 Amen. 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:32.160 There's one of two ways that you as a human being can experience this great inheritance that we're talking about. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:37.759 The first one is to pass from this life into God's glorious heaven. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:41.680 We can pass from this life into God's glorious heaven. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:52.799 And we even have some in our body who have experienced this tearing even recently, where somebody that they've loved very deeply has passed from this life into the next. 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:54.960 Let me tell you something about heaven. 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:59.759 Heaven is an amazing place, heaven is wonderful. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:10.319 When believers pass from this life, there is no fear, there is no darkness, there is no trouble. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:21.119 We close our eyes for the last time in this lives, and we open our eyes on the other side, standing at the gates of heaven. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:24.000 And we are surrounded by the glory of God. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:30.799 And before we know it, we're looking into the very eyes of Jesus Christ. 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:38.480 This is the promise of heaven that we will be with him. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:43.519 To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:58.640 There's no more suffering, there's no more pain, there's no more sorrow, there's no more crying, there's no more disease, there's no more sickness, there's no more fighting, there's no more hatred or anger or any of the things in this life that try to strip away our hope. 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:00.400 It's all gone. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:10.160 There's only hope in heaven, there's only life in heaven, there's only joy in heaven. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:13.519 Do not fear heaven, my friends. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:17.920 The only thing that we should fear is if we're not ready for heaven. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:21.680 We're going to talk about that a lot more. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:32.799 The other way that we might experience this inheritance is to experience the triumphal return of Jesus Christ. 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:46.559 I'm here to tell you that Jesus, before he left this planet, as he was talking to those same disciples that saw him after he was raised from the dead, he said that he was going to leave, but that one day he was going to what? 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:48.160 He was going to return. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:49.839 He was going to come again. 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:53.440 And 1 Corinthians 15 says it so beautifully. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:54.880 Listen to these words. 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:57.279 Behold, I tell you a mystery. 00:23:57.279 --> 00:23:59.039 We shall not all sleep. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:08.240 In other words, we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:15.839 For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:24.240 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:34.880 When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:36.960 O death, where is your victory? 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.519 O death, where is your sting? 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:44.799 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:51.680 But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:57.039 Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:04.079 It's not our inheritance, it's his inheritance that he gladly shares with us. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:07.119 Come on. 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:13.839 When Jesus returns, he's going to make everything right. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:26.480 If you can imagine the beauty and the glory of the Garden of Eden mixed with the beauty and glory of heaven. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:31.440 And I want to tell you quickly, when I was about nine years old, I was a fearful child. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:35.279 And I was dreaming one night and I had a dream about heaven. 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:40.720 It was as if heaven descended in front of me and it was cut in half like a sphere. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:46.960 And all I could pick out, all I could discern, all I could see was the brightness of that place. 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:52.799 And it was like the brightness filled my room, but more importantly, it was like it filled my soul. 00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:57.200 And from that day on, something changed on the inside of me. 00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:04.640 I'm not saying that you have to have an experience like that in order for you to be able to believe in a stronger way. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:16.400 But for me as a child, I am so grateful that God gave me that ability for just a moment in time to understand how amazing his gift of grace is. 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:20.559 You see, when Jesus returns, like I said, he's going to make everything right. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:25.680 Evil will be vanquished, righteousness will be restored, we will be glorified. 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:27.759 Do you understand that we will be changed? 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:49.119 That we will be glorified, that these old bodies will be no more, that they will be changed, that we will have, that our joints will not hurt, that our eyes will see clearly, that we will no longer have torment or terror, or that our souls will no longer be burdened by the hurt and destruction and devastation of this life. 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:52.319 It's going to be amazing. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:27:01.359 He's going to restore his kingdom, and we're going to experience that reign and rule forever and ever and ever. 00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:08.000 This was his original intent, and this is the intent that will be. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.920 That will be. 00:27:09.920 --> 00:34:23.119 From the heart. 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:31.760 A man shall confess with his mouth and believe in his heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and he will be saved. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:39.119 And so I'm just going to simply, at the close of this time together, I want to introduce a third category as well. 00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:52.800 You may be here this morning and you know all of these things, and you've even experienced living hope in your life, but you're going through a season and a time where you've been running from God, something happened that disappointed you, or you just made a decision. 00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:54.400 I don't want to do this anymore. 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:56.400 And you started going in a different direction. 00:34:56.400 --> 00:35:12.079 I'm here to tell you that the mercy of God, just as it was available for the prodigal son, when he recognized, he came to his senses, he recognized that things were better in his father's house, and he returned home, waiting to beg forgiveness. 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:25.840 He ran to him, put his robe on his back, put his ring on his finger, said, Let's kill the fatted calf. 00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:26.960 Let's rejoice together. 00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:28.239 Let's celebrate. 00:35:28.239 --> 00:35:32.079 For my son who was dead lives again. 00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:43.519 So if you're here this morning and you've been walking on the fence and you recognize that you want to live in this hope that we're talking about, I want to encourage you, return to Jesus today. 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:45.119 Return to him today. 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:52.320 I just ask that everybody close your eyes this morning because, and the reason for that is just because I want this to between you be between you and God. 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:54.559 I don't want anything else to influence you. 00:35:54.559 --> 00:36:00.079 Like I said, these three categories. 00:36:00.079 --> 00:37:04.559 That he did come to this earth, that he did live a perfect life, that he was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin, that he did show us who God was and tell us who God was, that he did take upon himself the sins of the world and the shame and the guilt, and that he was crucified on the cross of Calvary, and that he was buried in a tomb, and that on the third day he did rise again from the dead. 00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:19.199 If you recognize here, maybe for the first time this morning, that that is the Jesus that you need in your life, and that you're ready to give up your own way of trying to figure this out. 00:37:19.199 --> 00:37:26.719 I'm not going to embarrass you, I'm not going to call you down front, but I am going to ask that you just raise your hand in your seat where you are. 00:37:26.719 --> 00:37:28.400 That you here this morning. 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:28.880 Thank you. 00:37:28.880 --> 00:37:30.559 Is there anybody else here this morning? 00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:32.960 Just raise your hand where you are. 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:34.079 There's no embarrassment. 00:37:34.079 --> 00:37:38.159 In fact, everybody in this room is ready to celebrate with you. 00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:41.280 Because we've all walked down this road before. 00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:45.599 And we are so grateful for the loving kindness of our God. 00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:48.239 Anyone else this morning, just raise your hand up. 00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:49.760 Raise your hand. 00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:51.920 I just want to acknowledge, I want to pray with you. 00:37:51.920 --> 00:37:53.840 Okay. 00:37:53.840 --> 00:38:05.360 If you're in that second category of person, you recognize today that this world and the pull of this world or the hurt that you've experienced, whatever the case is. 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:09.519 By the way, I'm not trying to say that things haven't been difficult. 00:38:09.519 --> 00:38:12.079 We've all gone through very hard places. 00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:23.199 I'm just feeling specifically that there's somebody here that hypocrisy has caused you to doubt the truth about Jesus. 00:38:23.199 --> 00:38:26.000 I'm here to tell you this morning. 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:30.000 God loves you and He's perfect in every way. 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:32.400 And you can trust Him. 00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:35.280 I'm sorry that people have disappointed you. 00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:37.360 That should not have happened. 00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:41.519 But I'm here to tell you that God is perfect in every way. 00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:51.360 Don't miss out on the inheritance that God promises those who believe because of somebody else's unfaithfulness. 00:38:51.360 --> 00:38:55.039 Let it be between you and God alone. 00:38:55.039 --> 00:39:02.320 So if that's you this morning, you recognize I'm not as close to Jesus as I need to be this morning. 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:07.360 I'm not living with hope the way that God intended for me to live. 00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:10.960 And I'm ready to return to the God of my salvation. 00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:15.039 Would you also just raise your hand with all the eyes closed in the room? 00:39:15.039 --> 00:39:15.840 Thank you. 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:16.639 Thank you. 00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:17.679 Thank you. 00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:19.039 Others, thank you. 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:21.280 Thank you, Lord. 00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:24.320 I thank you, Lord, for what you're doing in this room this morning. 00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:26.880 I also want to speak to those who are watching online. 00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:29.440 This is a moment for you as well. 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:32.719 Encourage you to take this seriously. 00:39:32.719 --> 00:39:37.679 God may be moving in your hotel room right now, wherever you are. 00:39:37.679 --> 00:39:39.119 Don't resist him. 00:39:39.119 --> 00:39:42.960 Receive, receive, and embrace him this morning. 00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:48.800 So I'm gonna just pray a prayer and then I'll pray for believers at the end. 00:39:48.800 --> 00:39:52.159 And I'll ask us to stand at the end in just a minute. 00:39:52.159 --> 00:40:02.719 So this is I'm just gonna pray a few words, and the words themselves, like I've said before, are not magical or mysterious. 00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:06.079 The words themselves are just simply an acknowledgement of need. 00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:11.280 And so you can pray just from your heart, your words to God's ears. 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:17.280 I'm gonna pray just a simple prayer that you can follow along with if you're not sure exactly how to pray this morning. 00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:23.679 Prayer isn't what saves us, but it is a beginning point of showing faith in God. 00:40:23.679 --> 00:40:28.480 So just pray this prayer in whatever way you choose to. 00:40:28.480 --> 00:40:33.920 God in heaven, I acknowledge that I'm a sinner. 00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:42.320 I have disobeyed you in the way that I've lived my life, and I am truly sorry for that. 00:40:42.320 --> 00:40:53.920 I ask that you would forgive me and cleanse me and wash me so that I could be made clean and be made new today. 00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:57.199 I believe in Jesus Christ. 00:40:57.199 --> 00:41:04.719 I believe that he is the savior of the world, and I ask that he would be my savior and my Lord here this day. 00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:08.079 I accept him into my life. 00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:24.079 Holy Spirit, I ask that you would fill me completely so that I can be transformed and changed and to become more like Jesus every day for the rest of my life. 00:41:24.079 --> 00:41:29.840 Thank you for your mercy, thank you for your love in Jesus' name. 00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:35.920 Now for those who are returning to the Lord today, just pray a prayer. 00:41:35.920 --> 00:41:38.000 You know that you know how to do this. 00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:39.679 You've done it before. 00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:42.639 Just engage your heart with his heart. 00:41:42.639 --> 00:41:48.400 Father, I pray that you would help those who are returning to the God of their salvation today, Lord. 00:41:48.400 --> 00:41:57.360 Help them to see you as a merciful, loving God who wraps his arms around them and welcomes them home. 00:41:57.360 --> 00:42:06.559 Father, I pray that from this day on they would experience living hope in Jesus' name. 00:42:06.559 --> 00:42:26.880 Now for the rest of us here this morning, if you need an increase in the way that you put your your your faith and your hope in a living Savior that produces living hope in your lives that causes you to rejoice in the midst of trouble and trial and tribulation. 00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:32.559 If that's you this morning, would you join me by standing and let's pray together for each other? 00:42:32.559 --> 00:42:34.800 Thank you, Lord. 00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:36.239 Thank you, Father. 00:42:36.239 --> 00:42:38.000 Thank you, Lord. 00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:40.480 Thank you, Jesus. 00:42:40.480 --> 00:42:41.840 Thank you, Lord. 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:45.599 Yes, thank you, Lord. 00:42:45.599 --> 00:42:49.280 Thank you, Lord. 00:42:54.400 --> 00:42:57.519 Just just reach out to receive from him. 00:42:57.519 --> 00:43:04.079 There's nothing I have to offer you, but he has everything to offer you. 00:43:04.079 --> 00:43:38.639 So Father, we ask in Jesus' name this day that you would once again pour out your spirit upon us, Lord God, that we would be restored to that living hope that we already know that you've provided for us, that we would experience in our day-to-day lives what it means to believe in you, to trust that you have given, that you've won the victory and that you've given it to us as an inheritance. 00:43:38.639 --> 00:43:53.760 Help us, Lord God, to live out the rest of the days of our lives, rejoicing, filled with joy, singing, dancing, praising you, filled with hope, expressing this joy to others that don't know you yet. 00:43:53.760 --> 00:43:59.760 Father, help us to be filled to the fullness of who you are. 00:43:59.760 --> 00:44:09.280 And what your living hope is in us and through us in Jesus' name. 00:44:09.280 --> 00:44:16.880 As we're standing this morning, we want to finish the service out by taking communion together. 00:44:16.880 --> 00:44:24.639 And there's a beautiful verse, a few verses in 1 Corinthians 11. 00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:27.840 I want us to focus on one part of this, but I want to read it to you. 00:44:27.840 --> 00:44:42.960 It says, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you. 00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:46.480 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:53.920 In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. 00:44:53.920 --> 00:44:58.239 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 00:44:58.239 --> 00:44:59.360 Listen to this. 00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:09.199 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 00:45:09.199 --> 00:45:16.880 What is it that we can do that's symbolic of this waiting for our future hope? 00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:31.280 Even while as we experience it in the present, communion is a gift that God has given us to help us to bridge the gap, to remind us of the wonderful gift that Jesus Christ provided. 00:45:31.280 --> 00:45:38.000 And just quickly, if there's anybody who didn't receive elements yet this morning, just raise your hand and we'll get those to you quickly. 00:45:38.000 --> 00:45:42.000 All right, there's a there's some over on this side and some right here. 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:43.840 Just raise your hand. 00:45:43.840 --> 00:45:44.880 All right. 00:45:44.880 --> 00:45:47.039 Thank you, Lord. 00:45:47.039 --> 00:45:48.320 Thank you, Father. 00:45:48.320 --> 00:45:50.159 Joshua, would you just come? 00:45:50.159 --> 00:45:53.280