Colossians 1:18 NIV
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
A HOPE THAT HOLDS.
THE BACKSTORY OF OUR HOPE.
1 Peter 1:1-2 NIV
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
“Echoes of exile have reverberated throughout every generation of God’s people.” – Jeremy Treat, Pastor
Philippians 3:20 NIV
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Hebrews 11:13 NIV
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.
THE BASIS OF OUR HOPE.
1 Peter 1:3-5 NIV
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
WE ARE A PEOPLE OF HOPE AND OUR HOPE HOLDS!
THE BENEFITS OF OUR HOPE.
1 Peter 1:6-9 NIV
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 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, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
BENEFIT #1 – JOY IN TRIALS.
1 Peter 1:8 NIV
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,…
1 Peter 1:7 NIV
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
BENEFIT #2 – REFINED FAITH AND TRANSFORMATION.
WE MUST TASTE THE BITTER AND THE SWEET TO APPRECIATE THE DIFFERENCE.
TRIALS ARE INTENDED TO GIVE MORE THAN THEY TAKE AWAY.
BENEFIT #3 – WE ARE SHAPED BY THE STORY.
1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
