Growing in Grace and Hope
“Sharing Your Hope” – 1 Peter 3:15-20
The first
Christians didn't have some of things we have. They didn't have bumpers, so
they couldn’t
have bumper
stickers. There were no Christian
T-shirts, no J.C. hats or WWJD bracelets. They didn't have any super pastors
with T.V., radio, and tape ministries- They didn't have any celebrity pitch men
like football players or movie stars persuading people that Christianity was
cool. They didn't even have gospel tracts or motel room Bibles. Yet amazingly,
we read in the book of Acts, that not every week, but every single day people
were giving their lives to God and being added to their number.
How did that
happen? They did it with the same kind of advertising that we still have
everywhere today. Simple testimonials from satisfied customers. Just Joe and
Jane Average Christian saying, “This faith that I have, it’s reasonable, and it
has given me hope, changed my life. Let
me tell you about Jesus.”
Here in 1
Peter, he is encouraging us to speak our about our faith in trying times. At this point in the first century,
Christians were under fire. They were attacked for being intolerant of other
gods, even for encouraging the downfall of businesses based upon sinful
practices. It was not an easy time to share your faith. Some say it's not so
easy today either. We live in an age of tolerance unless our view claims to be
the universal truth for everyone. Christians are often frowned upon for taking
a stand against certain sinful issues and businesses. It's easier to hold your
faith privately or to huddle among people of like faith.
Maybe you're
a Christian and you've felt inadequate to share your faith with others. Maybe you've felt that pang of guilt that
comes over you because the Lord dropped a prime opportunity to share your faith
and you blew it, you didn't take it.
Maybe you're not a Christian here today, and you're wondering “What is it about you Christians that make
you so bent on sharing your religion with everybody else?”
If any of these
is the case for you then this passage is for you. It's in this passage Peter
gives us four essentials for sharing
our faith
1 Peter 3:15
– “But in your hearts set apart Christ as
Lord. 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.”
1. Before
you speak, make sure Christ is Lord in your own heart. “But in
your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.”
Sincerity is
essential. If there is one thing the world sees through quickly it is
hypocrisy. No one wants a fake to share with them.
Vineyard
servant fellowship - one businessman carries a toilet cleaning kit with him,
offering to clean gas station, restaurant and truck stop toilets as a gift in
the name of Christ. At one gas station, he asked the manager if he could clean
the toilets. The Buddhist owner said, “Yes,
clean those two over there, and then the twenty behind the building.” There were not twenty behind the building,
but he was checking to see how sincere the offer was.
2. Be
prepared always.
Peter says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
For a lot of
us this is the sticking point. I can have the hope, but share the hope? I just
don't know the Bible that well. I'm not that quick on my feet; I don't think
that fast. If I go out there and try to share my hope some skeptic is going to
tie me in knots with some philosophical problem that I can't answer. Having the
hope is one thing but share the hope? I don't think so.
This is the
beauty of sharing your hope. It's your hope. It's your reasons. Peter's not
saying, "Have
a snappy
rebuttal for every philosophical argument that can be tossed at you. No, he is
just saying, “Have a reason for your hope.” It's your hope; it's your reason.
It's your reason you individually prepare.
How do you
prepare reasons to share your hope? Know your own story. You can do that. What
gave you hope? What was your perspective before Christ and after Christ?
People who
are best at sharing their faith are not apologetics professors or people who
have theology degrees. They don't even quote the Scripture passages
specifically with chapter and verse and book.
If you say
“Habakkuk” to a non believer, they may say "Gottsundheit"; they have
no idea what you're talking about. People who are effective at sharing their
faith are people who just have a simple promise that they're holding onto in
their life. They've taken a promise of God and applied it to their situation
and it's given them hope. Now they're ready to share the reason for their
hopefulness with somebody else that needs it. It's that simple,
Just know
your own story. Stories are what communicate effectively to people today
anyway. Most people don't connect to doctrinal statements and to polished
presentations of Christian evidences. What they do connect to is stories.
3. Offer
reasonable answers to honest questions. - “give
the reason for the hope that you have.”
At a seminar
in
most of their
lives in their own hometown. They have fears and questions inside, but they
don't act like it. They move quickly and with confidence, but inside they are
scared about life and death. They aren't wearing their real name tags, because
they are afraid to share their fears and questions. They are afraid of being
vulnerable.
But people
will ask you things privately they would never ask in a larger social setting.
They will let their
guard down
if they feel they can trust you.
(e.g. Rex
Lowrance, Stan Hart) construction setting when no one else is around.
When you
don't have an answer, say so, but offer to get back with them. So relationship
is important.
4. Emphasize
your hope. - “give the reason for the hope that you have.”
Normally we
talk about sharing our faith. Today we're talking specifically about sharing
our hope, and there's a difference. When we share our faith, typically, we're
looking back. We look back and say, “God created the world, so I believe in
God. Jesus Christ came, and lived, and died and was resurrected, so I believe
in Jesus.” There was a time in my past when I hit rock bottom and I looked up
to God and He reached down to me and He saved me. So I believe in God. When we
share our faith we're looking back on those critical events that gave us faith
in the first place.
But when we
share our hope we're looking ahead. We're saying to a lost and dying world, “Here's
why I'm confident. Here's why I'm optimistic in a world whose future tends to
look bleak.” When we share our hope we're looking ahead.
Everybody has
hopes. We hope the economy is going to recover. We hope that maybe someday
we'll get a better job. We hope our kids will turn out OK. We hope we're going
to meet Mr. or Miss Right. We hope that
somehow our lives are going to get better and not always be riddled with the
problems that we have now.
The problem
with the world's hopes, as many as they have, they are pretty foundationless.
What guarantee is there that the economy won't get even worse than it is now?
What guarantee is there that your kids are going to turn out right? That your
life really is going to get better? The world's hopes really don't amount to
much more than wishful thinking. For us Christians, our hope is very different.
Here's a definition of a Christian's hope: Hope is an optimistic outlook
based on powerful promises from a faithful Father. The world's definition of
hope is an optimistic outlook. Ours is a
confident expectation of a certain future.
This is what the Bible here in 1 Peter says about a Christian's
hope: it is living, it's secure, it's sure, it's firm, it's certain. The object
of our hope as Christians is Jesus Christ. The reason that we hope in Him is
because of the powerful promises that He gives us and how He has always
followed through before, and he was raised from the dead after he offered
himself as the price for our sins.
He promises
he’s orchestrating all the events of our lives for our good, about how God has
a plan for us. He plans to give us a future and a hope. He plans to do good for
us. Jesus Christ right now, today, is in Heaven and He's preparing a place for
us. All kinds of great promises God gives us and that's why we hope in Him.
It's a very different kind of hope that the rest of the world tends to have.
What makes me confident in new and difficult situations? The
answer to that question will tell you whether or not your hope is sharply
focused. It's pretty easy for us as Christians to have our hopes divided What is it that gives you hope in a new and
difficult situation? Sometimes it's the strength of your resume. Sometimes it's
just the car that you pull up in, the fact that you're having a good hair day.
There are a lot of reasons why we have hope. But is your hope long lasting and
sure? Only if it is in Jesus the Christ.
5. Speak
with gentleness and respect.
I love the
fact that no where in Peter's letter is it found that you need a perfect
personality to share your hope. We need gentleness sincerely expressed. He said
“But do this with gentleness and
respect.”
Gentleness
and respect - I can do that. I can share my hope in a way that's kind of soft
spoken and meek, not pushy and know it all. I can be respectful. I can put
aside my agenda for a time and listen to another person's hurts, listen to
their feelings, empathize with them and them tell where I find hope in spite of
life's problems. That's doable. I can share my hope that way.
That's what we need. If I can think of anything that is overrated
in the Christian world today it's a dynamic personality. Many Christians love
to hover around those people and try to project that ourselves. “I'm important.
I'm smart, shrewd, witty, funny, cool.” We love to project that. If that's you
or me then we are far from the heart of God. God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble. If you're into promoting yourself how are you ever going
to promote God? If you come across so self-confident how are you going to
convince somebody that your confidence is really in the Lord? If you're so
self-assured how are you ever going to show somebody that you' a dependant upon
God? We think we need a special personality to share our faith, but that's the
job of the Word of God, the promises you share. The Bible says that “the Word
of God is living and active an sharp as a two edge sword.” It cleaves a person
in two and cuts right to the core of their spirit. It shows them who they are
and shows them their need for God. You
wield a great sword when you gently share God’s Word.
How do you
know you have the right attitude? How do I know my attitude is right?
When God's Word is more prominent than we are. When people come
away from an encounter with us and they say, “That Christian's a little
different. That's the first guy I think I've ever met that didn't try to force
feed me his religion.” When people kind of get ambushed by you and they don't
even know it. They get away from an encounter with you and say “Wait a second!
I just got witnessed to.” I think tht guy was trying to convert me and I didn’t
even know it.
6. Know that
Christ is present with you, taking responsibility for the results.
Those of you
who have paid any attention to my life for the past six months know that this
is big for me now.
1 Peter
3:16, the very next verse, says that people will be ashamed of themselves if
you present yourself in the way verse 15 instructs. They will not be able to hold onto their
stereotypes about Christians. They may
feel guilty about their own life and behavior.
But hopefully, further, they will be drawn to Jesus.
What's it
going to take for those of you who are believers this week to say, “I'm going
to share in a way that's me. I'm going to share in a way that's gentle.”
There's going to be people looking to you this week for hope. They're going to
be in your office, your neighborhood, your classroom, maybe your home. What's
it going to take?
I suggest
that it isn't a perfect plan or reading a how to book on evangelism. It comes
down to love. Strategy and planning isn't what people usually lack in
sharing their faith. What will make a person share their faith? It is the motivation of love. Knowing that
without Christ our friend or mate or parent
or employer.
. . is going to hell. Knowing that you have a hope you want them to have.
No matter
how easy you make it sound there's always going to be some people that say
“Yes, but ..” Peter says, “Yes, but look at Noah.” Jesus went and proclaimed
God's salvation to earlier generations who ended up in the prison of God's judgment
because they wouldn't listen. You know, even though God waited patiently all
the days that Noah built his ship, only a few were saved, eight to be exact.
The
illustration to Noah in 1 Peter 3:18-20 is the illustration to your “Yes,
but...” For 120 years, the Bible tells us, Noah lived and he didn't just build
a ridiculous ship. It says he was a preacher of righteousness. For 120 years it
was Noah - his shipyard and petting zoo. Noah always had to be prepared for the
reason why there was this big ark in his backyard, miles from even the
slightest evidence of any water. For 120 years he did that. Amazingly, nobody
got saved. There were 8 people on that ship but they were just Noah's family.
Even more amazingly, Jesus was there. Obviously, not physically,
since Noah lived before Jesus. But He was still in heaven as the Eternal Son of
God. But it says, Jesus went in Spirit and was there with Noah Yet nobody got
saved. That's not discouraging. It's incredibly encouraging for three reasons.
A. If Noah
had Jesus with him, so do we.
In Noah's
day, the eternal Son of God was there, along side of Noah in sort of a
subliminal way working with him. As Christians, Christ is with you quite
literally. God's Spirit is living inside of you. When you became a Christian,
you received the gift of the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit is huge in you. God's
Spirit is speaking right through you when you share your hope in Christ. So if
Noah had Christ with him, be encouraged, be confident; you have Christ with you
even more so
B. If Noah
didn’t have to produce results to be considered faithful, neither do we.
For 120 years nobody ever believed.
Christ was there. Was Noah a failure? No way! Noah is one of the greatest men
of faith who ever lived. And he didn't produce any results in the form of
conversions. We just need to remember, as Christians, it's my job to speak,
it's God's job to save. It's my job to do the possible, it's God's job to do
the impossible. I can't save anybody, but I can share my hope and leave the
results to God. If Noah didn't have to produce results, to be approved by God,
and is held up as one of the great people of faith, then neither do I.
C. If Noah
can handle the insults and the persecution, so can we.
Peter says
earlier on in this passage, if you're eager to do good, then who's really going
to oppose you. If you're out living a good life and sharing your hope, then
who's going to oppose you. The answer is, only the real jerks. Most people will
appreciate it. If they don't accept it, they'll at least appreciate that you're
trying to do good. Only the real jerks will oppose you. In Noah's day,
everybody was a real jerk. The Bible says, that the thoughts and intentions of
every person's heart were only evil all the time. For 120 years that's the
environment that Noah lived in. Can you imagine the insults the guy had to
endure? But if he could endure it, so can we. Chances are it's not going to go
nearly as poorly with us as it did with Noah. In fact, it hasn’t. This church over the past thirteen plus years
is evidence of many wonderful results God has allowed us to enjoy as a result
of sharing our faith. And I wouldn’t be
surprised if God let’s us see more results in the future.
You're going
to go out in a world this week that's hopeless and they need your hope and they
need it in a bad way. People are looking for anything that we can give them.
People have got their hopes set on all kinds of foolish things. And the environment of this country is
letting them down right now in many ways.
I want to tell you a true story about a high school student who
made a presentation in a class of his hope. Here's how baseless it was. The
biggest presentation of the day comes from a kid named Mickey. His real name is
Steve, but he won't let anyone call him that. For as long as kids can remember
he's always wanted to be known by the name of his hero, Mickey Mouse. This is
not a joke. Mickey has a sense of humor about it, but underneath he is dead
serious He shows the others his Mickey Mouse harmonica, his Mickey Mouse cap,
his Mickey Mouse doll and his Mickey Mouse toothbrush container and his Mickey
Mouse earring. He said he would have brought his Mickey Mouse underwear, but he
didn't think anybody would want to see that. “anything and everything I've got
it,” he says. He shows them a clipping from a newspaper photo of a cow with
spots naturally shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. According to Mickey the people
who owned the cow have already sold it to Disney. They got about a million
bucks for that cow. The other kids are stunned by the sheer number and
diversity of the souvenirs, especially the Mickey Mouse fishing bobber, “No
way!” says another kid, “where did you get that?” “I don't reveal my sources,”
says Mickey. Mrs. O'Donnell asks him how his fascination began. And this is the
sad part of a true story. It started awhile back, when he had quit school for a
time and was at home by himself. He was
depressed, lonely. He felt like a
failure. “I couldn’t make friends. Then I found Mickey Mouse.” He had built his entire hope around an
imaginary character!
I don't know
a lot of people who are putting their hope in Mickey. But a lot of people are
putting their hope in the value of EP real estate or in their good health or in
a career or in family. There are people taking on a lot of things as their
source of hope. You and I know that there is no eternal hope in any of these. As
our old friend Ed would say, “It’s all gonna burn.” They do not last beyond the
grave, so
they offer
no real lasting hope. That's the domain of Christ. What they need for hope is
Jesus.
One day a
mom and dad were shopping with their five year old son in a large department
store. It was one of those with three stories. They were so engrossed in their
shopping that they didn't notice when their five year old wandered off. When
they finally did, they were frantic, searching all over for him. Nobody they
asked seemed to have seen him. They were getting really worried and upset when
they heard an announcement over the intercom, "Would Mr. and Mrs. Browning
please come to the manager's office on the second floor?" They hoped that
their son had been found. They ran up the escalator and into the office area.
As they opened the manager's office door, there was their five year old,
sitting in the high back leather chair with his feet propped up on the desk. He
had a Pepsi in one hand and a puzzle game in the other. He looked anything but
scared. But as he made eye contact with his frantic and worried parents, the
little five year old began to cry and ran to his mommy. You see, he didn't
realize he was lost until he was found. He didn't' realize he was lost until he
saw the worry on his parent' faces.
Why do we
need to share our hope with people around us? Because people need to know they
are lost When we share our hope, maybe they can see that there is reason to be
concerned if their hope is only in this life. If they see our hope, maybe they
can see the concern on the face of the heavenly Father who is frantic that one
of His children is lost. And maybe they can see the love on His face that calls
them to come home. Share your hope, please, God pleads you. You may be their
only chance of ever hearing the hope they need so desperately.