Praising God Because Of Our Living Hope! 1 Peter 1:3

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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," (1 Pet. 1:3). In light of the title of this message, let's examine this passage of Scripture. In this passage, we're given a huge reason the Christ follower should give praise to God. Peter says the reason is because God has "caused us to be born again to a living hope!" In many places, the Word of God declares that the lost are without hope in the world! These are the words of Solomon about the wicked: "The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing" (Pro. 10:28). In other words, if your hope is built on the economy, your career, your family, your friends, or your investments, all these hopes will come to nothing! You could lose your career or retirement at any moment. The economy is uncertain. Life as we know it will eventually cease. These are dead hopes because they're uncertain at best and one day they'll come to nothing. Yet, these are the only hopes that the world can really have. But, those who are Christ followers have a hope that will last throughout eternity! Notice the words of apostle John about this world and particularly the man who obeys God: "The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:17). Because of the resurrection of Christ, the man who does the will of God abides forever. Death is just an entrance into eternity with Jesus, and therefore, his hope is living and will never pass away! Look at what apostle Paul said about his death: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). In order to speak of death as gain, you really need to have a living hope! For the Christ follower, our hope is eternal! Our hope is living! It's living because of Jesus' resurrection! Peter says we have a living hope "through the resurrection of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:3). It's living because we have an inheritance in heaven that will never be taken away from us. It's living because God is saving us for it, as we'll one day be resurrected! Praise God forevermore! As Christ followers, we're to bless God because we have a living hope. We're born again to a living hope. I'm reminded of the words of Edward Mote who said: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name." "On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand." Your move. Be encouraged!