Our Christian Inheritance

Intro…

Welcome to the Cornerstone Baptist church podcast. My name is Justin Wheeler, I am the preaching pastor for Cornerstone Baptist Church in Wylie, TX.

It is April 2020 and we are one month in to the new normal of working from home, keeping our social distance from one another, trying to learn how to be the church when we can’t meetup and can’t gather together for worship. So far, 2020 has shaped up to be a very challenging year and we are just 3 months in.

But in the midst of this challenge the promises that God has made to those who trust in Christ has not changed. That’s what I want to talk to you about today. Actually, I want to follow up on last week’s podcast where we looked at the first half of Peter’s introduction to his first letter.

Last week, we talked about the living hope that we have in Christ and how this hope motivates our worship of God, even in the face of trials. But this week, I want to look at the future hope that Peter tells us about; a hope that takes the form of our Christian inheritance.

I Peter 1:3 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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice,

Transition…

Now, one of the things that is important to keep in mind as we read this passage is that the main idea is the living hope that we have as believers in Christ. That’s the main point of this passage and all the surrounding truths serve to explain the depth of our hope. Our Hope as believers is not affected by the circumstances of difficult days because it is rooted in God’s mercy.

COVID-19 has taken our world by storm and it has caused panic in some, fear in others, caution in most; but whatever the outcome of our current situation, nothing can take away the hope we have in Christ. Our hope extends beyond this life and looks to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Our inheritance is being guarded by God’s power and it will be revealed to us in the time to come.

What exactly does this mean and how does it strengthen our hope in the midst of this trial?

Podcast Focus…

Let’s talk about the Power of Hope

Hope is a powerful thing. Hope causes us to get completely emotionally wrapped up in the prospect of something great happening even despite evidence to the contrary.

With hope in our hearts we can not only live but also endure great difficulty. Cancer patients fight to live because they have a driving hope that health is just around the corner. Soldiers battle on against all odds driven by the hope that soon the bullets will stop flying and there will be peace. Hope fuels in us a powerful desire to face the trials of life because hope holds out the promise of peace and rest.

But what is hope? I can’t remember who said/wrote it, but somewhere along the way I picked up this definition of hope. Hope is faith in the future tense. When we talk about having faith, especially saving faith, we are saying that we trust that what Christ did for us on the cross is sufficient to rescue us from our sin, bring us to God, and keep us there forever.

Our faith as Christians, is based on Christ’s person, Christ’s work, Christ’s teaching, and Christ’s resurrection. All of these things are in the past, whic