What a Different Hope You Have!

6th Sunday of Easter, 5/29/11
1 Peter 3:15-22


What a Different Hope You Have!
I. Your hope is certain in Christ.
II. Look for opportunities to share it.


Two years ago the word “hope” enjoyed national attention. In fact, it was the one-word campaign focus of our President. And it resonated with a majority of voters. The citizens of our country were looking for a way out of financial crises brought on by rising unemployment and the failures of our health care system to meet the needs of our country as a whole. President Obama promised change and, along with it, hope.

But that hasn’t been easy. Too many of the people in our country are still hurting. I was at a church meeting in another church a couple weeks ago and a woman stated, “We’re not winning. Our wages are lower and food and gasoline prices are higher.” Not a week goes by without one of our members telling me basically the same thing. Surely you’re hearing much the same from friends and family members. And what’s our solace? We tell ourselves, “Things can’t get much worse. We can only hope they’ll get better.”

We also try to find our comfort in putting things into perspective. Sure, things are rough here, but we think about those poor people who have suffered the loss of family members and homes recently to tornadoes. We had some damage here last Wednesday evening, but it’s nothing compared to what others have faced. And what do we do? We hope that this violent weather ends soon, but we have no assurance that it will.

And then we come to church this morning and we hear that word again. In this morning’s text Peter declares, “Be prepared…to give the reason for the hope that you have.” What hope is he talking about? Some days we don’t feel like we have much hope. In fact, we deal with moments of hopelessness.

But this hope is different. It’s the hope we have as people who trust in Jesus as our Savior. And what a different hope that is! What a different hope you have! That’s the truth our Lord shares with us this morning. What a comforting and powerful truth it is!

Part I.
In any number of areas of our lives we save the best for last. Isn’t that what our mealtime dessert is? In a little more than a month we’ll watch fireworks displays and they all end with a grand finale. They save the best for last. TV series end the season with a cliffhanger episode that makes you wait eagerly for the next season to begin.

Regarding our Christian hope, today’s scripture selection saved the best for last as well. The final verse reads, “Jesus Christ…who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” We don’t have a Savior who is still limited in his existence here on this earth and struggles through life like we do every day. Instead, he is exalted. In theological terms, we declare that Jesus is now in his state of exaltation. He lives in all glory as true God. While he was doing his work here on earth, he limited that glory, allowing it to be seen only temporarily, as when he performed a miracle or showed that he knows all things. But now he makes full use of that glory.

Along with that glory he also makes full use of his power. We state that Jesus is ruling over all things for the good of his church—his believers. That includes you and me. We may wonder about that at times. In fact, we may even have our daily doubts about it. But it’s true. He is using his almighty power to direct all of history for our good. That fills us with hope, a different hope, a certain hope.

That hope is certain because everything Jesus did for us is certain. Peter makes a short list of those things, every one of them critical for us. He states, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Our sins separated us from God. But Jesus died to make peace for us with God. That work is finished as he stated on the cross. That makes us certain.

He followed his death with his resurrection. Peter again states, “He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.” He promised to rise again after three days and that’s exactly what he did. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the very foundation of our Christian faith. Because Jesus kept that promise, we know that all his promises to us are certain. That fills us with a different hope.

To fill us with certainty, Peter even refers to Jesus’ descent into hell when he states, “through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison.” Jesus descended into hell on Easter morning with a glorified body to proclaim his victory over Satan. He didn’t shout that victory from heaven. He went right to hell and thereby showed that Satan had no power over him. Therefore, Satan has no power over us either. That fills us with a different hope.

That hope was brought to us through our baptisms. At our baptisms Jesus made us children of God. Peter says about our baptisms, “Baptism now saves you also.” Your God wants you to be so certain of your eternal life with him that he graciously gave us the Sacrament of Holy Baptism by which he brings that salvation to us. Living in heaven forever isn’t just a wish for us. Nor do we wish we can get there. It’s certain for us by faith in Jesus.

What a different hope you have! Your hope is certain in Christ.

We have a certain hope in Christ. We belong to him forever and we will live with him forever. What more could our Lord do to make us certain and fill us with hope? But there are times—too many times—that this certain hope isn’t enough for us. We want Jesus to put an end to the struggle we’re facing, and then we’ll be filled with hope. We want Jesus to remove the various difficulties in our lives, and then we’ll be filled with hope. When he solves our financial, employment, health or relationship issues, then we’ll be filled with hope. That’s sinfully myopic, isn’t it? To think that filling some momentary, earthly need will fill us with hope? Shame on us! Jesus died and rose again to win our forgiveness and to fill our needs eternally. Don’t base your hopes on what you still want your Savior to do for you! Let your hope spring eternally from what your Savior has already done for you. That’s what makes your hope different. It’s certain in Christ.

Part II.
It’s only natural for people who have been blessed with much to feel a responsibility to share what they have, especially with those less fortunate. That’s why people who earn millions of dollars a year establish foundations. It gives them a controlled and systematic way to give away what they don’t need for themselves.

We’ve been blessed with far more than earthly riches. We have a certain hope in Christ. Appreciation for that hope leads us to seek opportunities to share it.

That’s what Peter was talking about when he stated, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience.” Obviously, Peter is speaking about sharing your faith with others. That’s not always easy to do. In fact, we can easily come up with excuses not to share our faith. But we know it’s what our God wants us to do. So let’s take a closer look at what Peter says.

He tells us when to share our faith—always be prepared. Use the moments in life—good and bad—to share what you know to be true from God’s word. Point out to others how certain verses of the Bible or hymn verses are a source of comfort and strength for you. That’s sharing the hope that you have.

Peter also tells us how to share our hope—with gentleness and respect. We’ve all been turned off by “holier-than-thou” messages from Christians—preachers and lay people alike. Peter urges the opposite. Lend a listening, caring ear to an individual. Find out what their struggles are and then offer them the help that only Jesus can give. That’s sharing your hope with gentleness and respect.

But then Peter adds what sounds like an odd phrase. He speaks about sharing your faith with a clear conscience. What’s his point? He’s urging us to share our faith from pure motives and with words of love and respect toward others. When we do that, God is glorified and he uses what we say to work in the hearts and lives of others. We can go away from such a situation knowing that we did our best to share his truths and leave the rest to him.

But let’s never use that as an excuse to leave it all to him. It does us no good to pray, “Thy will be done” and then avoid opportunities for our God to use us to accomplish his will. Stated positively, he’s looking for us to seize opportunities to give others the reason for our certain hope in Christ. He simply asks us to be faithful with the gifts and the opportunities that he gives us.

And then we can leave the rest to him. We’re just the Lord’s mouthpieces. Conversion always has been and always will be the work of God the Holy Spirit. The credit and the glory for bringing a sinner to faith in Jesus belong to God and not to us. That shouldn’t fill us with jealousy nor with self-deprecation. Instead, it should fill us with comfort and joy. God uses us to do his work. The results are up to him and not up to us. And that fills us with hope, a different hope.

What a different hope you have! Look for opportunities to share it!

I know that sharing the hope that you have isn’t easy to do. But it’s the most rewarding work you can do. What pleasure it gives a person to share those simple truths with a child! What joy we experience when a person, who didn’t formerly have a church home, joins our church. And to be able to say, “The Lord used me to bring his truths to that person,” is an amazing thing. Look for opportunities to share the hope that you have! God promises to bless your efforts. Amen.