Matt Chandler - Hope and Glory

Good morning, church. My name is Anna Ray, and I am the executive and ministry assistant for the institute. This morning, we’ll be reading 1 Peter 1:1-12. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, writes to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ, and for sprinkling with his blood. May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this, you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

That was a lot, wasn’t it? Hey, it’s good to see you! Here’s what we need: every seat in the room. We’ve got about 20-something people, 25-ish people still trying to get in. I know some of you like personal space; we’re probably not the best church for that. If you could scoot toward the center, if possible, wherever you are, that will help us see and fill those seats most quickly. If you have your Bibles, would you go ahead and grab those? We’re going to walk basically line by line through that passage.

I spent last week with a group of pastors and ministry leaders, and the purpose of getting together was to, through this nonprofit ministry, begin to look at the pain points of our day and talk about how the church might step into those spaces and be the salt and light that God has called us to be. I found myself in this meeting with other pastors and ministry leaders, feeling incredibly grateful that God, in his providence, has seen fit to put me with you in this moment of history. I feel a deep affection for you, and that I have been blessed by God to be placed here with you at this time in this season of human history—messy as human history appears to be in this moment.

So I found a great deal of affection stirred in me, and I knew we were heading into 1 Peter, which is all about hope. If there’s one thing that I want you to be full of and to live your life out of, it’s a deep reservoir of hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism; I’m not talking about spirit-sprinkle spirituality. I’m talking about deep-rooted hope that, come what may, my gladness is secure in Jesus. I want that for you. The cynicism of our day might lead you to not get your hopes up, and I want to change the adage. This is funny—I have to carry this morning: it’s not «don’t get your hopes up.» The Bible would say to get your hopes up! Not to be cynical and think, «Oh, it’s getting dark and scary,» but rather, «No, let’s be glad people, marked by unshakable, deep-rooted hope in ultimate reality.» And 1 Peter embodies that single theme of hope—hope, hope, hope, hope, hope. He wants to fill the souls of these men and women. The Holy Spirit, to this day, wants to fill our souls with gladness—not rooted in blind optimism, but rooted in the resurrection and finished work of Jesus Christ.

I love this passage. Even where we start, it makes no apologies. He begins the book by calling the listeners the elect exiles. That label lays on you and me, and here’s what he’s saying: look at it; this is not your home. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling that more and more. Anyone else? I feel like I am odder now than I was a decade ago. I feel like I am more misunderstood now than I was a decade ago. I can sense a kind of acidic hostility toward Jesus and his gospel that was not present 10 or 15 years ago. I can feel it, and Peter knew it. He’s writing to these churches in what you and I know as modern-day Turkey, Asia Minor, and he’s saying right out of…