Introduction
Are you living today like your future in Christ is certain, or like you’re throwing a spiritual “Hail Mary pass,” hoping things somehow work out? The central truth I want to press into your heart is this: God has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, and that certain future reshapes how we live, love, and endure right now (1 Peter 1:3–5). Before we open the Word, I also want you to feel the family connection in the body of Christ. Out of prayer, fasting, and obedience, the Lord birthed a gospel work that began in a slum and has multiplied into orphan care, churches, and house fellowships. That story matters because it shows how God uses ordinary steps of faith to produce eternal fruit. Now let’s let Scripture set our hearts:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3–5)
Main Points
Are you living today like your future in Christ is certain, or like you’re throwing a spiritual “Hail Mary pass,” hoping things somehow work out? The central truth I want to press into your heart is this: God has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, and that certain future reshapes how we live, love, and endure right now (1 Peter 1:3–5).
Before we open the Word, I also want you to feel the family connection in the body of Christ. God knit together Calvary Boise and Calvary India through His providence, one man walking into a Wednesday night service in Boise in 1989, another servant of God looking for ministry partners in Bangalore. Out of prayer, fasting, and obedience, the Lord birthed a gospel work that began in a slum and has multiplied into orphan care, churches, and house fellowships. That story matters because it shows how God uses ordinary steps of faith to produce eternal fruit.
Now let’s let Scripture set our hearts:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3–5)
The Birthplace of Living Hope
I need you to see where Christian hope begins: “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3). Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. It isn’t crossed fingers. It isn’t a last-minute gamble like a football “Hail Mary” thrown in desperation.
Christian hope has a birthplace, the empty tomb. If Jesus is risen, then our hope is not uncertain; it is certain. That’s why the resurrection was the dividing line in so much apostolic preaching. People could tolerate moral teaching, but when Paul spoke about resurrection, it forced a verdict (see Acts 17). The resurrection confronts every skeptic and anchors every believer.
If you ever wrestle with doubts, or if you’re discipling someone who does, don’t be afraid to examine the resurrection seriously. The faith is not asking you to stop thinking; it invites you to consider what God has done in history.
Future Certainty Shapes Present Living
Here’s a discipleship principle I want you to carry: what I believe about the future shapes who I become today. If I think the future is empty or meaningless, I’ll live shallow, anxious, and self-protective. But if I know where I’m headed, it changes my endurance, my joy, and my priorities.
Think of two people doing the same hard work, one for a small reward, another for a massive reward. The future outcome changes how the present feels. In the same way, the certainty of being with Jesus forever reshapes the “tedious” and “painful” parts of life now.
Scripture makes that future plain:
- We will be like Him and see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).
- We will be caught up to meet the Lord…and always be with the Lord, and we should encourage one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:17–18).
- We will live together with Him (1 Thess. 5:10).
This is not escapism. It’s strength. When you know you’ll “always be with the Lord,” you don’t have to be mastered by fear, loss, or the shifting conditions of the world.
Hope for the Broken and Poor
I want to gently widen your heart here: living hope is not only for comfortable moments, it is oxygen for suffering people.
When we serve in places of deep poverty, sometimes we feel we have almost nothing to offer. It is heartbreaking to hear stories of need that are bigger than our resources. In India, realities like children dropping out of school because they have no breakfast remind us how heavy life can be. Brokenness is not theoretical. It is daily.
And yet, Christian hope speaks into that darkness without denying it. We can offer love and practical help where we can, but we also offer something the world cannot manufacture: the promise that God will restore what is broken.
Revelation 21:1–5 gives the destination:
- A new heaven and new earth
- God dwelling with His people
- Every tear wiped away
- Death, grief, crying, and pain gone
- “I am making everything new”
That is the end of the story for those born again into living hope. So even when ministry feels limited, hope is not limited. God’s future is real, and it sustains present faithfulness.
Tasting the Powers of the Age to Come
This hope is not only future, it starts now. Scripture says we have “tasted” realities of what is coming (Hebrews 6 speaks of tasting “the powers of the age to come”). When we worship, pray, gather as a church family, and commune with Christ, we are experiencing a foretaste of eternity.
That means discipleship is not just “hang on until heaven.” It’s learning to live today in resurrection power. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us. So hope is alive, active, and transforming.
I’ve seen this in people who come from devastating circumstances, like a rejected, abused teenage girl with HIV/AIDS who had nowhere to go. When Christ receives someone, and the church receives them in His name, hope begins to rewrite the future and soften the present. A smile returns. Joy reappears. Not because life is easy, but because the person is no longer alone, no longer discarded, and no longer without eternity.
An Inheritance That Cannot Expire
Peter says we are born again not only into living hope, but “into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Pet. 1:4). Everything in this world expires, possessions, health, strength, opportunities. But what is yours in Christ has no expiration date.
Jesus told us not to store up treasures where moth and rust destroy, but to store treasure in heaven, because where our treasure is, our heart will be also (Matthew 6:19–21). So I ask you directly: Where is your treasure pulling your heart right now?
This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, and you are guarded by God’s power through faith (1 Pet. 1:4–5). That means the security of your future is not mainly in your grip on God, but in God’s grip on you.
Living With a Light Touch on This World
Because our inheritance is secure and the world is passing away, we learn to hold earthly life differently, not with contempt, but with clarity.
Paul says:
“The time is limited…For this world in its current form is passing away.” (1 Cor. 7:29–31)
That doesn’t mean we stop loving our families or valuing relationships. It means we become intentional, because time is short. Marriages, friendships, and church family life become precious assignments, not casual accessories. We weep, rejoice, buy, and use what we have without being possessed by it, because our true inheritance is elsewhere.
This is discipleship: learning to live with eternity in view, with a “light touch” on temporary things, and with a deep grip on Christ.
Heaven as the World of Love
Finally, I want you to let hope purify your understanding of love. Love on earth is real, but it is often mixed with envy, selfishness, insecurity, and pride, like water flowing through a clogged pipe. Even in our best relationships, sin distorts what we give and receive.
But heaven is not only a place of restored bodies and wiped tears, it is the full, unhindered experience of the love of God. That is why the Christian refuses despair. Even when someone without Christ can only imagine death as an ending, believers know death is not the end. Jesus has overcome the final enemy.
So as your disciple-maker, I’m calling you: let your living hope cleanse your loves now. Practice forgiveness. Practice generosity. Practice receiving the unwanted and rejected, because that’s what Christ did for you.
Conclusion
Christian hope is not uncertain optimism; it is resurrection certainty. God, by great mercy, has given you new birth into a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3). That hope has a destination, being with Jesus forever, in a restored world where God wipes away every tear (1 Thess. 4:17–18; Rev. 21:1–5). And that hope has a present impact, shaping your relationships, your endurance, your compassion for the poor and broken, and your grip on possessions (1 Cor. 7:29–31; Matt. 6:19–21).
So I want you to walk away with one clear discipleship aim: live today like resurrection is true and eternity is near, because it is.
Father in heaven, we bless You as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your great mercy that gives us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. Strengthen our faith in what is certain and eternal. Guard us by Your power through faith, and teach us to live with eternity in view.
Lord, comfort the hurting, provide for the poor, and give us compassionate hearts that receive people as Christ has received us. Make our church family faithful in prayer, generous in love, and bold in gospel witness. Fill us with Your Spirit, lead us in Your ways, and keep our eyes fixed on the day when we will always be with the Lord.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
Christian hope is not uncertain optimism; it is resurrection certainty. God, by great mercy, has given you new birth into a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3). That hope has a destination, being with Jesus forever, in a restored world where God wipes away every tear (1 Thess. 4:17–18; Rev. 21:1–5). And that hope has a present impact, shaping your relationships, your endurance, your compassion for the poor and broken, and your grip on possessions (1 Cor. 7:29–31; Matt. 6:19–21).
So I want you to walk away with one clear discipleship aim: live today like resurrection is true and eternity is near, because it is.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, we bless You as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your great mercy that gives us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. Strengthen our faith in what is certain and eternal. Guard us by Your power through faith, and teach us to live with eternity in view.
Lord, comfort the hurting, provide for the poor, and give us compassionate hearts that receive people as Christ has received us. Make our church family faithful in prayer, generous in love, and bold in gospel witness. Fill us with Your Spirit, lead us in Your ways, and keep our eyes fixed on the day when we will always be with the Lord.
In Jesus’ name, amen.