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The Actions of Hope

The Actions of Hope
August 7, 2016

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13-2:3

I. Christians should set their minds on heaven while they wait for it.

A. In vs. 13, Peter begins this section of his letter by saying, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” When Jesus comes, that is when we will go to heaven to live with Him and with God for all eternity. That is our hope. Peter says we need to set our minds on this heaven. In Peter’s culture people wore long robes. Before they went on a long journey, they would pull their robes between their legs and then wrap and tie them around the waist to prepare for either running or fast walking. We are on a long journey toward the Promised Land of heaven. The way to get ready for this journey is to set your mind on heaven.

II. Christians should live holy lives while they wait for heaven.

A. Peter writes in vs. 15-16, “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” What kind of a God lives in heaven? A holy God. So if we want to live with this God in heaven what kind of lives are we going to live? Holy lives. The only reason we can live holy lives is because our identity has changed. Verse 14 says that we are now obedient children. Who is our Father? The answer is provided in vs. 17: God is our Father. We have a saying in our culture: Like father, like son. If God is now your father because Christ died for your sins, then who are you going to be like? You will be just like your father God. You will be holy like God your Father is holy.

III. Christians should love one another earnestly while they wait for heaven.

A. Peter says in vs. 22-23: “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” Christians are people who are born again. And new life necessarily leads to love. Love is an essential mark of the Christian. Where does this love come from? We have been born again from the seed of the Word of God. Life is not the only result of God’s Word planted in you. So is love. We discover the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

IV. Christians should crave the life found in Christ while they wait for heaven.

A. In 1 Peter 2:2 Peter tells us “like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” What is the milk that we Christians should crave so that we grow up in our salvation? God does not want us to stay babies as we make our journey toward heaven. He wants us to grow up. Look at verse 3, “If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Who does Peter say that we have tasted? We have tasted the Lord in our experience. Peter is quoting from Psalm 34:8: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Is it possible then that the milk we are to crave is the Lord Himself?

Application:
Ask God to give you a greater craving for Jesus as you journey toward heaven.

Sources:
The letter of 1 Peter
Commentaries on 1 Peter by Karen Jobes, I.H. Marshall and David Helm