The Hope of His Calling, Part 3

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the specific blessings that comprise Christian hope, categorized into those for the individual (perfection of spirit and body), the church (glorious and spotless)…

Martin compares his process of tracking down the meaning of 'hope' in commentaries to a detective finding clues, suggesting the excitement of discovery leading to a breakthrough.

Well, what are they? I came across an amazing passage in tracking it down. And when I get on the track of something, I must feel a little bit like a detective does when he gets a clue here and a clue here, and he feels maybe the case will break open, and before long, he'll have handcuffs on the criminal. Well, as I was tracking this down, I got on the word hope and thought of all the commentaries I have which have any of the verses on hope, and as usual, or as so often, happens, I ended up in John Brown in his commentary on 1 Peter, and he's treating the concept of hope in 1 Peter 3.15,

7:11 - 7:46 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the specific blessings that comprise Christian hope, categorized into those for the individual (perfection of spirit and body), the church (glorious and spotless)…

Martin extensively quotes John Brown's commentary on 1 Peter, which collates numerous scriptural phrases describing the objects of Christian hope, providing a comprehensive list of promised blessings.

But down here at the bottom in the footnote, those are all references, probably about two dozen references from which he gets these phrases having to do with the Christian hope and he piles it all together. What is the promised blessing or what are those promised blessings? Listen to this wonderful collation of them by John Brown. Let us inquire more particularly what are the objects of the Christian hope?

8:12 - 8:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The hope of the believer is not the disembodied state. The hope of the believer is the consummate glory of his salvation when in body and spirit he shall be perfected at the last day.

He asks if listeners have ever been so consumed with desire that it became groaning, illustrating the intensity of Paul's fervent yearning for the resurrection body.

how he expresses his fervent yearning. He uses these terms verse 2 for verily in this we groan longing verse 4 indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened. You ever hear anyone so consumed with desire that their desire became groanings?

21:18 - 21:40 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The hope of the believer is not the disembodied state. The hope of the believer is the consummate glory of his salvation when in body and spirit he shall be perfected at the last day.

Martin expresses a wish for tape recordings of Paul's prayers, suggesting that profound spiritual experiences often come from praying with men who know God, illustrating the depth of Paul's spiritual life.

I just wish there were tape recorders back in the days of the apostles.

21:44 - 21:47 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We patiently wait. Why? Because we have biblical hope that is rooted in the faithfulness of the God who has promised.

He uses the analogy of someone receiving a gift and then saying they 'confidently expect and yearn' for it, to illustrate that hope is for what is not yet seen, distinguishing it from present possession.

For in hope were we saved but hope that is seen is not hope for who hopeth for that which he seeth? You don't confidently expect the promised blessing if it's already been given. You may gratefully acknowledge the gift and say thank you. But what would you think of someone who put a gift in your hand and then you said, why that's lovely of you and I confidently expect and yearn for the thing that you've given me. He'd look at you and say

26:48 - 27:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We patiently wait. Why? Because we have biblical hope that is rooted in the faithfulness of the God who has promised.

He addresses the common taunt of 'pie in the sky by and by religion' to illustrate how the world mocks the Christian's patient waiting, contrasting it with biblical hope rooted in God's faithfulness.

He said, we are so confident that these blessings will be ours that we can patiently wait and time in a sense doesn't mount the hill of beans to us because we know that the blessings are promised by the God with whom a thousand years is a day and a day is a thousand years. And though men mock at us and say you've got your pie in the sky by and by religion and my grandfather and great grandfather and men of the past talked about Christ coming and delivering the earth. From the bondage of corruption and the gathering together of the church and the glorifying of the saints. Hundreds thousands of ...

27:41 - 28:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We patiently wait. Why? Because we have biblical hope that is rooted in the faithfulness of the God who has promised.

He uses the analogy of a farmer patiently waiting for the precious fruit of the earth, enduring until the early and latter rains, to illustrate the Christian's patient waiting for the Lord's coming.

therefore brethren until the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth. Being patient over it until he receive the early and latter rain. Be he also patient.

28:50 - 29:06 Read in full sermon

The point: If your hope is from any source other than the written Word of God, get rid of it because it is bogus and counterfeit.

He describes a 'bogus' hope derived from being raised in a church that teaches a 'not too bad, not too good' approach to life, illustrating a counterfeit hope not rooted in Scripture.

Is it because you were brought up in a church that said God's not too bad and He'll weigh the good with the evil? So if you just don't be too bad, then don't be too good either. You'll scare people away. But just be sort of nice in the middle, sort of in the middle of the road with good and evil and everything will turn out all right.

34:00 - 34:17 Read in full sermon

The point: If your hope is from any source other than the written Word of God, get rid of it because it is bogus and counterfeit.

He describes a false hope based on Jesus' compassion combined with the intercession of Mary and saints, illustrating a hope not solely grounded in Christ and Scripture.

And maybe you have something that looks like Christian hope this morning. You say, well, I know I haven't been perfect, but I know Jesus has compassion. Compassion on sinners. And He died to do something with the problem of sin, so maybe He'll make up my inadequacies.

34:17 - 34:31 Read in full sermon

The point: To the unconverted, if you are ever to have a solid hope, it must come as you lay hold of the promise of mercy for sinners who embrace the Lord Jesus.

He uses the metaphor of grasping at straws or papier-mâché to illustrate the fragility of false hopes, contrasting it with the solid, immutable promises of God's oath.

Interposed with an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope that is set before us. Oh, my friend, you need never fear that in grasping at the hope promised in Scripture, that you're grasping at straws or grasping at papier-mâché that will crumble under a firm grasp. No, no. God's promises have woven into them, into their very substance, His own oath.

37:20 - 37:59 Read in full sermon

Driving home: there is an invisible umbilical cord connecting every single blessing God gives to the womb of his eternal and amazing grace so that you cannot rightly conceive of any blessing without tracing it back to sovereign eterna…

He uses the metaphor of an 'invisible umbilical cord' connecting every blessing God gives to the 'womb of his eternal and amazing grace,' illustrating that grace is the ultimate source of all blessings, including hope.

who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word what's the ultimate source of our hope? it is the hope that comes through or in the realm of grace you see it matters not what blessing we're touching on whether a subjective blessing of the hope within us or the objective concept of that for which we hope may I say it reverently? there is an invisible umbilical cord connecting every single blessing God gives

41:18 - 42:02 Read in full sermon