Hope in the Spirit

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0:00 For us, this week we're going to wrap up looking at this reflection we've been doing coming out of. It seems like a simple comment from first Peter. Okay, first Peter chapter three is where we've been pulling this phrase.

0:34 Now remember we think that Peter writes this letter, we call it first Peter. Certainly it's not the first letter he ever wrote, but it's the first one we have. He wrote two that we still have. And he wrote them to the church kind of at large. And we think he was probably in Rome. After arrest he ends up being crucified. We talked about that Peter at the end of his life lives in a time in the world where followers of Jesus are suffering severe persecution probably under Europe.

1:06 Peter was so impressed with the crucifixion of Jesus that when they wanted to crucify him he said don't crucify me the same way Christ fed me upside down. Obviously he went through a lot of persecution. He writes this letter to the church amidst persecution. And the critical thing we've been building on here is at the beginning of the letter he tells them to remind them that though they are amongst a world where people are dying and they might be inclined to believe that the Jesus who rose from the dead ascended into

1:45 and it claims that that's set at the throne is losing power and authority because his followers are being persecuted and life is hard for them. Even death is taking them. He says that amongst this appearing downslide you have a living hope that is set aside for you an inheritance undefiled, unfading, imperishable. I love the stacking up of those adjectives undefiled, unfading, imperishable because

2:17 I love the idea that it doesn't get worse over time. The waiting for me doesn't degrade it or break it down. I love that it's undefiled that I cannot defile the inheritance no matter how I might try intentionally and unintentionally to find myself in places where I would be sure I would defile the inheritance God has for me. Peter reminds me that this living hope beyond the grave past death is unfading, undefiled

2:50 and imperishable. There is no end for the inheritance. And he says that then this inheritance is a reason for us to have hope amongst all the suffering and hardships of life. And we started out saying that though that we are not persecuted so we might be inclined to think that we don't have hardships or suffering. But it is important that we don't diminish our sufferings and just divert our attention

3:21 with hope that is dying, distractions. Instead it's better that we focus on a living hope and take our suffering real. And so then we need this living hope. And Peter says you have this living hope so be prepared to give a defense for him. And so that he might tell us to prepare to give a defense for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus for two main reasons. One, amongst the downward side of life when we realize we have real suffering. Dreams don't go the way we want. Relationships get more difficult than we think they ought to.

3:53 Work becomes drudgery, right? Financial struggles might be hard to explain or predict or protect ourselves from that we have real suffering. So we will need a defense for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. We will need to remind ourselves why we could believe that our inheritance is still there for us. That is still relevant and waiting. We will need a defense for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus.

4:24 And so we've been looking through the reasons we might have hope. The second reason we need a defense is because for some reason, and I come back to this every several months, it's fascinating to me. And I can't quite, I haven't all the way figured it out. And it will be a good conversation with the Lord. I don't understand why he moves the gospel through the world out of the mouths of people. Why does he wait for Paul to be able to make his way around Asia Minor for the news of

4:58 the King of Kings, raining on a throne that never ends? Why does he wait for the feet of Paul to carry him around Asia Minor when he has Jesus outside space and time that can pop in and out of places? I don't know why, but for some reason, throughout history, from scripture onward, God works through the mouths of people. And often the thing that is coming out of them is not an erudite or eloquent description of theological positions, vicarious atonement or whatever.

5:31 It is usually a colloquial, a very general, personal, authentic, vulnerable explanation for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. And when we look at the story of Peter, we see that's true for him. And when Peter gives an explanation for the reasons, the honest, authentic reasons, he has a hope in Christ Jesus, we see God working in the world. And that's the last way I want to close this reflection time, I don't know.

6:05 So I've been just like talking to you for the last several weeks about reasons that I have a hope in the inheritance that that gives my life significant. And I can relate to and build upon the significance that God gives in my life. That I have experienced, not intellectually but emotionally, the honest and very real

6:35 forgiveness of God, where shame and guilt are removed powerfully. Oh, that Demetrius talked to us about the way that we have seen the provision and the protection of God at different points in our lives. This one has been sticking with me. I talked to you several weeks about, several weeks ago, about how the reality that God is a just and merciful judge gives me hope in the inheritance that I don't have to be

7:10 judged in the world. I'm so compelling to me. I can't get off this idea that even Jesus on the cross doesn't take the role of judge, but pleads for the ones crucifying him and says, Father, please forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. That even at the cross, he leaves the judgment seat to God the Father. And I love the ability to depend on God so that it absolves me from the responsibility of moving through the world as judge. And then two weeks ago, we talked about the reality of the fruit and the spirit that I

7:43 find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control in the reality or in the belief in the inheritance. And last week we talked about that continuing to gather as the church are evidence or reason that I might have hoped that the inheritance is real. That throughout generations, throughout governments, throughout nations, throughout the crazy perversion of church or abuse in church, yet the church persists.

8:25 And the reality that you and I are the church of God gives me hope that the inheritance is real. And this week I want to look at the last reason for me. And we're going to use Acts chapter three or two, let's see. Well, we'll go to Acts chapter two. We're going to not vote that story of Peter there in Acts chapter two.

9:07 It was several years ago, several years ago, Meg and I have a mutual friend whom we loved, we still love, but past tense, so we were loving them then. And we had known them for a long time and we knew life was hard for them. We knew that they at times in their life knew the Lord, but we didn't really know where

9:41 they were with that or where they had been for that. We knew that they felt a little aimless, so maybe didn't admit that. We didn't know that there had been long bouts of substance abuse in their life, though it didn't particularly surprise us. But I remember one morning, several years ago now, this mutual friend called me and

10:13 said, I'm tired of feeling like a void in the world. I was casting about to figure out how to knock and I realized I had a friend who was a pastor and I should ask him, where should I start reading? I tried to not cry audibly into the phone, suggested some books, expressed my love, got

10:46 off the phone and told Megan, we need to write down this moment that we, to remind ourselves that no one is ever so far gone that the gospel can't redeem, restore, rebuild, reenergize, reenlive and it is not the case. There is no limit to the potential of the gospel.

11:16 We need to remember that because we have seen this here. We would not have thought this would just happen. And yet it did. And over the years since that moment has met itself out in progressive and successive life restoring under the reign of God. To where fruit of the spirit is evident, provision is evident, significance is evident.

11:47 All the reasons for the hope in Christ Jesus. And it is moments like that. Friendships like that. I had one friendship in college where I had worked in all sorts of places. Right after high school I worked for this landscape, I mean for the South Survey crew, we were a land moving company.

12:17 And worked in the truck with these guys who were 30 years in land moving construction, rough and gross. I had worked before college, first summer of college I had worked for this landscaping company where we did commercial irrigation installation. And the guy that my foreman of the crew, we'd arrive at the truck in the morning and he'd open up the ice chest where we had the water for the day and he'd store his nappy lights

12:47 in there. He'd meet a couple to get through the day, seven o'clock in the morning, pull open the plans and he'd pop his first satellite. I worked with all sorts of people, you know. And I had prayed for the maintenance guys I had to work with that ended up in Gainesville because they were coming out of stark prison, you know. I worked with all sorts of people. And I had tried different ways to have conversations, to move towards conversations with them, right? To try and like steer conversations, this is the young me, steer conversations towards

13:20 ones of faith. But when I thought about this week, I remember this time I worked with this dude who ran a pizza place that was called Sano Healthy Pizza. I was a delivery pizza guy in college. And he asked me what my major was in college. I was a religion major at the University of Florida and he thought that was super cool. He was the kind of intellectual you could only have in a college town. He had dropped out of school but fancied himself a philosopher and a Buddhist because

13:56 he liked reading philosophy, right? And could have conversations about philosophers from the kind of pop level philosophy stuff that he had been reading. So he was really energized when I was a religion major and started asking me why I wanted to be a religion major. And I told him I might go into ministry and he said, what kind of ministry? Because he thought maybe I was going to be a Buddhist monk. I said, I'll probably Christian ministry. This is without exaggeration. He could not control his laugh at me.

14:27 It was so absurd that I would fall for the trick of a Christian God. Now by then I decided I can't fix anyone. I can't save anyone. I had tried in those other jobs and they liked me but never anything passed that. I could get people to like me. So I decided I'm not going to try and get anywhere with this guy. I'll pray for him if it occurs to me and I'll just answer the questions he asks me. He started asking me about different experiences of God.

14:59 He would tell me what he thought the Christian God was and my response was very simply. That's too bad. I'm sorry that you experienced. Here's how I experienced the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Christ in the church. And I'm sorry that this is how I experienced the church that I'm a part of. I'm sorry for that experience that you had. It sounds terrible. It's over a period of about seven months. I walked him through the Apostle's Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer.

15:32 It came to my little hand, it came to church and got that size and started donating and saw my healthy pieces of the youth group. And I remember it in a conversation with the Lord saying, thanking God. I said, I didn't do a single thing. I just watched your gospel convert this dude in my midst. I remember marking it down saying, Ben, don't forget. You can't talk anyone into the face, but the gospel is good enough to convert, to restore,

16:05 to redeem. And I think that's what happens here in Acts chapter two. You know Acts chapter two is like the big Pentecost moment, the watershed moment. Everything changes after Acts chapter two. Nothing is the same after Acts chapter two. It's so fascinating to try and pinpoint the most important moment.

16:36 Of course, the cross of Christ is this cosmic event that brings to end one reign or one line of humanity and launches into the world a whole new line. We could say that this inaugurated a little bit at the incarnation, but the door to that new line of life opened at the cross of Christ, where now it puts to death and then raises to life at the resurrection flipped. And now all of humanity has the option to live out of this new creation inaugurated by the

17:11 person of Christ and carry forward under his reign and authority. It's hard to pick out the most important moment. Is it the incarnation? Is it the crucifixion? Is it the resurrection? But I think we also need to put in there the release of the Holy Spirit. This is the unbounded, infinite God rushing out into the ether and in in livening humanity. Immediately. I mean, it's beautiful, right? It's like in the story of Pentecost, it says it came like a loud rushing wind and

17:45 I've said this before, but for me, it's like, of course it did. The great spirit of God has been bound up somewhere, held back and held at bay in the like holy of holies behind the curtain, right? And just waiting for the moment when the Holy Spirit, when there is a humanity that can that can go the enlivening of the great primordial spirit of God and it happens.

18:16 It rushes out with a loud rushing wind and all of the 11 standing there are announcing in all the languages the reality that something new has been unleashed on the world where the incarnated one is now raining and we have the opportunity to live under his authority forever as we were intended and created to be beautifully. And it is not without effect.

18:48 The inheritance waiting for you is not without effect now. The inheritance undefiled, undiminished, imperishable has effect now on you. It does on Peter, right? And the classic story where he's afraid to admit to even the lowly people outside of Jesus' trial and scourging that even knows Jesus.

19:21 And when the thousands are assembled in the holy city for the high fees, he stands up amongst them all and gives the pronouncement, right? Acts 2, verse 14. But Peter, standing with the 11 lifted up his voice and addressed them, men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give ear to my words, for these men are not drunk as you suppose since it is only the third hour of the day.

19:53 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel and in the last days it shall be God declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men and shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will share wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and the vapor of smoke and the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon, the blood

20:23 before the day of the Lord comes and the great magnificent day and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And he says, men, it is real here these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst as do yourselves new. Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God you through society and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be

21:02 held by it. Because he goes on. The promise that God did not abandon the Christ to the grave and thereby will not abandon you to the grave, that death could not hold the Christ and therefore death will not hold you. This promise changes everything.

21:36 Of course Peter announced it and 3,000 people changed the way they were living because the Holy Spirit works real through a genuine authentic announcement of the gospel. I hope that as we've been through this over the last several weeks, you have been reminded of the reason that you would have legitimate, reasonable hope that there is an inheritance

22:12 unfading, undernished, imperishable, set aside for you. You have been inspired to believe that you have that hope. I hope that you have grounded yourself in reasons that that hope, the evidence that you can see that that hope is real. At least we don't want to remind you, don't be shy about those defenses. The world needs hope in their inheritance.

22:56 And you have it. When we announce our hope that original spirit works again, just like at Hunter College,

23:38 thank you Lord for your remarkable faithfulness and your willingness to teach and leave that teaching behind, your faithfulness to work through those 11 and the 500 you appeared to and even Lord to work through us down through the ages. Holy Spirit, might you remind us this morning of our own defenses.

24:18 Embold in us. You're not trying to save people, but just to be vulnerable and honest. We love you Lord because you have loved us.