LIVING HOPE

Transcript

Welcome And The Living Hope

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For more ministry podcasts, visit our website and subscribe to doncarpenter.ca.

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My name is Don Carpenter, and I'm coming to you from Wickham, New Brunswick, Canada. And today I'm going to take you to 1 Peter 1 and verse 1. Going to talk to you today about the living hope that you have. You started off on your journey and you served God and you have everything totally made up in your mind. It's going to be just wonderful. All is going to be well from now on.

When Faith Attracts Opposition

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All is well between you and the Lord. But what it does, it stirs up the enemy, and then the enemy stirs up people, and we go through what we call persecution. Maybe we're ashamed of the gospel. Maybe we feel that we don't want anybody to know that we're a believer. Or when they do find out, we want to still fit in with the world, but it doesn't work that way. And even if you think you're fitting in with the world knows immediately who you are, they can sense in their spirit there's something different about you. When you are born again, you're baptized in water, filled with the Holy Ghost, I'm going to tell you something, the world knows when you're around them. So don't think for one moment that you're going to hide your life and it's all going to be okay, you're going to be able to get along with the world and go to church, and the church people don't know that I'm trying to live two lives. It doesn't work that way, does it?

Faithfulness Over Popularity

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The Lord really spoke something to me last night, and I felt it again this morning. Preachers. Churches. We are not determined that we have to have a popularity rating. Well, he's he that church is so popular. That minister is so popular. The list goes on. We are the church that's activating the kingdom of God, and we need to be faithful. Let's just look

Peter’s Greeting And Our Identity

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at this. First Peter chapter one, verse one. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bethina, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. This is identification. Peter identifies himself just like you do. We identify ourselves in the body. We're identified by our relationship with the Lord. We are identified with our ministry and our faithfulness within the local body. And Peter is telling us what he is: an apostle of Jesus Christ. That didn't happen overnight.

From Fisherman To Apostle

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Lots of times when people come into the kingdom, they want that why can't I just be doing this? And why don't I have this strength and all the wine? Let me tell you something about Peter. He was raised in a fishing village. He was a fisherman, not highly educated as far as the secular world is concerned. But something happened in his journey through life. This was a man not expecting it, but Jesus walked through his fishing village. Just like he walked through your village, just like he walked into your family and into your life. One day Jesus just walked by. Jesus knew that God ordained for Peter to become an apostle. Not just a preacher, but a mighty, powerful man of God. And one day, Jesus just walking by said, Follow me. And Jesus did that with us. He came into your life, your circumstance, no matter how much of a struggle you were going through, or whatever it was, whether you're rich or poor, male or female. One day he just walked through your life. And he said, Come, follow me. Peter is writing to the church that's located in these particular regions and towns. Peter knew and had heard that what was going on in these communities was great persecution. And that's what slows some people down in their walk with the Lord. They're going to say, you don't know what I have to go through. No, I don't. But one thing I do know, the God that Peter served and the one that he wrote about, that same God I am talking to you today about. He will help you when you are being persecuted. Whether you're persecuting yourself, putting yourself down, limiting to what God can do in your life, limiting to what you feel you can walk or receive in. We are meant to receive all that Jesus has for us. And he says, I'm ready to the chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

Chosen Through Spirit And Obedience

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Have you ever wondered when he says chosen, we know how to come to the place of called as chosen. We read in the second verse how that is done. First of all, it's done by the work of the Holy Spirit, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. That word sanctifying talks about separation. It talks about us determining what is a God's walk and what is a worldly walk. That's what's determined there. When it talks about being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, all of us, everything we do, we think it's okay. It's right in our eyes. We're all different, and whatever our decision is, we've made the right decision. If nobody else sees it, they're all wrong, of course. So that's how we all are. We have to be convinced in our minds that we've made the right decision. Now, unfortunately, some people know what the right decision is and still won't take it. But I'm going to go on the premise that we are going to, once it's revealed to us, we're going to walk that out. So the first thing that we know and we have to find out is that there is a sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. You don't just get to be called chosen and still go your own way. The second thing that I see in verse 2 is the chosen obey Jesus Christ. It's very specific. Obey Jesus Christ. It seems to me that if that's the case, the Lord must be directing my life. And Peter wants them to know no matter what the persecution is that you are suffering in Pontus and Galatia and et cetera, no matter what, and it was intense persecution. I imagine some of them it was costing their lives, certainly their livelihood, and et cetera. And the third thing that must take place, we see in verse 2, in order to be a part of the chosen, is we must be sprinkled with his blood. And that would be that we allow the blood of Jesus Christ through the work on the cross. We have now a way made for salvation. And we speak that out. Romans takes it a bit further and says, if we confess, and that's what these believers did. They did all of that in Bithnea and in Asia and Cappadocia and in Galatia and Pontus. They did all of that. And they're suffering great persecution. And like anything that we go through, the greater the persecution is, the more pressure we feel. It's nice, isn't it, to have somebody come along and say to us, I've been praying for you. I know what you've been going through. I am praying for you. That means a lot. When the Holy Ghost uh asked Peter to write this letter to the people in this region, the Holy Ghost knew that they needed to be encouraged. That's what it's like when we come together every week. Those of you who are with us here physically in our building today, and those of you are joining us online wherever you live. It is so important that we come together. The reason we strengthen one another. I'm here to tell you that no matter what you're going through, God has a hope for

The Living Hope That Sustains

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you. The hope you have while you are living. Yes, we have a living hope. Jesus is our living hope. But he also wants us to know that while we live in this world and we live for Jesus, we have hope. One of the things, if not the thing that does it, that tips a scale that makes us want to quit and makes us want to give up is the fact that we have no more hope. We just can't see how it's going to work out. We just can't see what kind of a life that it's going to be. The kind of life you're going to have. It's going to be a life without the devil influencing your decisions. It's going to be a life of you walking as a new creature in Christ. Then verse 2, when we know that we are the chosen of God, and we know that there's hope, may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. That's what it says in the New American Standard. That it may be yours in the fullest measure. Verse 3, let's go into there. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Don't ever forget who's helped you along the way. Yes, you give thanks to God, and you recognize that without Him and without Christ, where would we be? But also recognize those who have strengthened you and helped you in your Christian walk and in your Christian life. Don't forget to be thankful for them as well. And it says here that who, according to his great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter goes over here in the first chapter. He lays it down very basic. There has to be growth. And that responsibility is yours. And Peter is saying, look, God has provided you with the tools. And he caused us to be born again to a living home. That's how we make it. I'm not going to give that up. And Peter is saying to the brethren here in these churches, you're not going to give that up, are you? That's like people who have been called, saved, brought into the kingdom, and a few months or years you hear them that they've gone back out. What's wrong with your air? You weren't thinking properly. Because when you have the mind of Christ, you never think about going back. You never think about that the world's got more to offer you. When you have the mind of Christ, and that has to be a responsibility. And it says grace and peace. You're thankful for this. His favor that he's put upon you. That is what's taking place. And may that thankfulness come forth in your life. Be thankful. Don't think, yeah, I got it. And it looks like we go to the next meeting. Okay, what else do you have for me? Are they gonna sing my favorite song today? Or what am I gonna do? Come on, give me a word. I want to get a prophecy. Aren't you thankful for what you've already have? Be thankful for what you have and what he's doing. And you're gonna say, Yeah, the Lord knows that. That's just like some spouses that never tell their mates that they love them. They know that. Tell them it means a lot. And the Lord wants you to know if you're thankful, you'll be amazed what comes next. Because when you truly are thankful and people know you appreciate what you give them and what you do for them, they're gonna continue to stand with you and you will not live alone. And the hope you have every day, every week, no matter what you're going through, shiftness, domestic issues, finances, whatever it is, you have a living hope in knowing that he'll never leave you nor forsake you. Now there's a reason for all of this. And thank God for the resurrection, Jesus raising from the dead. Let's go into verse 4. The reason that this is all happening to you is that you will obtain. That means you possess it, it's yours. The enemy's not going to come along and steal it away from you. You make that decision to leave the Lord, the enemy doesn't. But anyway, let's get back to this. Verse

An Inheritance That Cannot Fade

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4 to obtain an inheritance. There's surety in this inheritance that we have in the Lord. I want to read this verse. Which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. Who? Who's the you? The you are the ones that are protected by the power of God. When we obtain this inheritance, eternal life, walking in the fullness of the Spirit. There's just much in this inheritance. Understand that it's imperishable according to the word of God. And the word of God is what we live by. This word's prophetic. It's imperishable. When you get an inheritance, whatever it is, it's not going to waste away. It's never going to die. Just like you, all the things that God gives you are never going to die. And the people in Cappadocia and the Galatia in these regions, when Peter wrote to them and said, Look, I know you're having a difficult time. Don't quit. Don't give up what you've got, because what you have, they cannot take it away from you. I'm laying down a word here today that it's a rooting, it's a grounding word. I'm trying to help you that when you face these things, there's no uh virus in it. There's nothing like that in it. It's not going to be going to go along and say, I got a glitch, living for Jesus, and I got this glitch. No, the glitch wasn't in what God gave you. The glitch is in what you are refusing to face. It's what God's been dealing with you about, and you think that it's of the devil. And the fact of the matter is, it's the old carnal nature, and it needs to be dealt with. And then we will walk in victory. All of us face the same thing. It'll never fade away. You've got this gift, and the next battle you go through, it's not going to be necessary. No, it's not going to fade away. Tell the devil that. People sometimes say, the Lord is so far from me. That is a deception. He never fades away. And if you don't want to fade away, man, that's a winning combination. You and Jesus walking strong together. I'm bringing you a rooting, grounding word today. The next thing you have to understand is reserved in heaven. That's where they're based. That's where they're made rooted and grounded. They are there for you. But you can have all of this walking in this life. We need it now. And when Peter was writing to the churches, he was telling them, this is not something that's going to be waiting for you when you get over yonder only. You're going to have it now. I need it now. I remember when I was a young preacher, there was a saying going around in the churches, and I don't know where it came from, but they used to people used to talk about the nasty now. The nasty now doesn't exist for us as believers. That's the world's problem. It's not ours. Let's go to verse

Protected By God’s Power Through Faith

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5. You who are protected by the power of God. Now, what do you think that power could be? That power has to be Holy Spirit power. Jesus Himself said in the book of Acts, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you. You shall receive power. That's very real. And you are protected by the power of God. Now here's where your part comes in. Through faith. It's always through faith. You are protected by the power of God through faith. Some Christians live in terrible environments. Politically, socially, and also family. They live in some terrible situations. But through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, there is going to be a mighty revelation. And the day is going to come. You and I, with the saints of ages gone past. Hallelujah. We're going to stand and we're going to be together. We're going to talk. We're going to rejoice in saying, Yes, we are the redeemed. We are the ones that have come down through the age. It's going to happen. And that revelation, right now you may feel alone. You may even be alone. And yes, we still pray into those situations. And yes, we believe that whatever's coming against us, that will be stopped. And we believe that members will be saved. We're believing that national leaders will find God. We keep believing for all of those things. But in the meantime, I'm walking and I'm living in the hope that is mine. Your spiritual strength, you have spiritual hope, and that you're going to make it. And you're protected by the power of God. I want to go to verse 6.

Trials That Refine And Reveal Faith

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In this, you greatly rejoice. Even though now, for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. So, I greatly rejoice in what's happening in the realm of the spirit and what's happening with you spiritually, but Now for a little while. And pretty well, all persecutions that you encounter as a believer, they only last a little while. A week, a day, an hour, a year, twenty years, but they're only a little while. And most things that you thought you'd never be able to get through and was just terrible, you probably don't remember one of them. You probably don't even remember one from last year or two. You understand? They're just a little while. God has something to say about that. It's only a little while. That's what the word says. For a little while. Just be encouraged. It's only for a little while. You have been what? Distressed. That means causing sorrow, grieving. You have been distressed by various trials. Peter wrote in Peter 4 12, he said, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is about to try you as though some strange thing has happened unto you. I'm a believer for Jesus. Why am I going through this? It's only for a little while. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 7. If necessary, if for a little while, so that the proof of your faith may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor. That's what it's about at the revelation of Jesus. Prove your faith so that the testing of your faith is more precious than gold. A lot of people want gold. Why not give glory to God? Because that is more precious. More precious than the gold that you possess. That faith, even though it's tested by fire, it's more precious. It will go through the fire. You will come out the other side, and you will be strong in the Lord, and praise and glory and honor. And Jesus will be revealed in you, and he'll be revealed to all who know you, and he will be revealed to those who are attacking you. It's a win-win situation when you release your fence.

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Amen. For more ministry podcasts, visit our website and subscribe to Doncarpenter.ca