Good afternoon. I would like to take you back to the first letter of Peter. We are continuing in this journey. We have been looking at the letter that Peter wrote to believers facing trials. Much like many of us in our day, who are pressed with economic pressures, stress in the family, and faced with confusion in this world, and we sometimes are faced with illness. All these are the common challenges that humanity has, and the Word of God applies to the times of the recipients of the letter, to comfort them concerning their lives when they were being diverted from the faithfulness of God, God being presented like He doesn't care, He has left them alone. The same comes to us, that even when these things happen, God is fully in charge. And today, We are going to look at how we find our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, our eternal anchor of hope. Today we are going to deal only with verse 20 and verse 21, and I'm going to read. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. Father, we come again desiring that you will help us to be established in the fact that Christ is our keeper. Christ, our shepherd, is the one who takes care of us, and our help comes from nowhere else but from Christ. So we pray, our God, that as we consider your word, you will help us to focus and to understand it. And Lord, that we will not lose out, but that we will be able to benefit from it, to use it in our lives, that it may bear fruit, fruit that lasts. We ask, Lord, that you will also help your servant to trust in you and to know his hope also. lies in you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. We cannot escape the fragility of this life and we are usually caught at that very point of our being fragile to get us off the mark. Peter points us to Christ as our only and greatest hope in relating to God. And indeed, he is. Because if Christ did not come, we would have still been in darkness. Yes, we would have seen the glory of God being screamed by creation, but we would have been in the dark concerning how do we know him? How do we have a relationship with him? And how do we go about life here on earth as we are faced with the challenges that we are faced with? Christ is our eternal anchor of hope. And this was planned from eternity, as we read, but it was revealed in time. And Christ was victorious over death, and that is also a source of our hope. Therefore, we can trust Him in every daily reality. How do we do that? Let us look at the hope that is found in these few verses in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first place, there is hope in Christ's eternal foreknowledge. That is what we see in verse 28. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world. But there is also hope for us in this life in Christ's timely manifestation or His timely revelation or His timely coming to us. And in the last place, we'll look at the hope in Christ's resurrection and glory as we see in verse 21. Let us look at the hope that we have in Christ's eternal foreknowledge. From verse 20, Peter writes here, he was foreknown before the foundation of the world. And you know, this great word means not just foreseen, like seeing ahead of time, no, it actually goes beyond. Chosen. and planned and predestined by God. In love, He was set aside from eternity past to be the instrument that is going to do something for mankind's redemption. And this is before all the galaxies were spun, all the stars and, you know, the objects that we see, that we have tried to search out in the cosmos before time ticked. It is very difficult for us to try and imagine that because our brains cannot contain We are talking about going into infinity. That's why we cannot fully know God, because otherwise we would become God ourselves to be able to fully understand. Christ was marked out as our Redeemer from before time began. Now, this, therefore, tells us that this was not a last minute fix. It was not some afterthought by God. He set out to do this all alone. To redeem us. To save us. To use Christ. To take us out of the quagmire we found ourselves in. It was God's eternal blueprint. That is what God set out to do. But then, brethren, how does this, therefore, become a source of hope for us? Why does this give hope? Think about it, in daily life we face unpredictability. We cannot be sure of what will happen next. We do not know the future. We do not even know what will happen this evening. And there's so much that is going on, even within you, which you do not understand. And all these things, causes lack of rest. Sometimes, as we go on, there are job losses. And this is a huge thing when the means of livelihood is snuffed off. How do you take care of yourself? How do you take care of your family? We are thrown into panic. And people sometimes even end up with excessive blood pressure. People suffer strokes because of things like that. This economy is not an easy one. It is not the best of economies. Yes, we can see some improvements here and there, but the reality is that things still turn out to be difficult. We sometimes are told, we go on a casual visit to the hospital and we discover there's something much more serious than what we thought. and suddenly it looks like our whole life has changed. The future is bleak, there is panic. The struggles sometimes we see with our children, the child is not developing as it ought to develop. Initially you thought, let's just give it time. And then you begin to get concerned. But if Christ was planned before creation, then we know that our lives are not random. Even the events that are happening are not random. It means that God is not surprised by those things that are happening. In fact, He is not just not surprised, He is firmly in control. Because He set in motion life for you, including those things. And he knows what he is doing so we can rely on him. God knew every trial that you have ever faced, that you are going to face in this new year. And do you know what he did? He wove Christ. He included Christ into the fabric of your story. The Lord Jesus Christ is interwoven with your story. And this from eternity past. He set out that he is going to redeem you And is he going to leave you on your own so that you can work out how you are going to get to heaven? Not so. He has it all figured out. That is our great hope. Dear brethren, that is our great hope. When in your life You are faced with financial uncertainty. Remember, God's eternal plan includes those challenges that come, but there is an answer that he has prepared, and Christ is in it with you. To know that is very uplifting. so that you know that when you lose that investment that you trusted and relied on you were being responsible with it you did whatever you could to protect it and God takes it out you know that this is not a surprise This has not come to destroy me. It is part of the plan of taking you to redemption that God has set out. The difficulties, the challenges, including illness, including those times when we are challenged, everything is taken away. Look at the case of Job. What does the Lord say concerning him? Even when he had fallen under attack, the Lord says, he is a man of integrity. Have you considered my servant Job? That is, after he had suffered pain, after the first event, the Lord still asks, have you considered my seventh job? Because it is part of his plan. When we are faced with uncertainty, when doubt whispers, Does God even see what I am going through? We must cling to this fact that Christ was foreknown for us, that our redemption was not an afterthought, that our redemption was in fact the first thought. This whole life that we are living, we are living, there are so many things going on, it is ultimately for our redemption. Many things are coming in, many things are happening, but it is ultimately for our redemption. And so we should be thankful to God that He planned even our messes. He planned our trials. He planned our challenges, and we must trust him. We must anchor our hope in his eternal love. In the second place, hope in Christ's timely manifestation. So Peter here continues. He says, though he was foreknown from eternity past, He was only manifested in the last times. God held back manifesting him before that. What does that mean? It means he was revealed. He was made to appear. He had been held back, but now he has been made to appear. So Christ stepped from eternity into our history. And he came just at the right time. He came at the right time. That was the plan of God. He came at the right time. And why did He come in the last times? Why did He come at this time? The Bible tells us, for the sake of you. Is that what we are reading? But was made manifest in the last time for the sake of you. It was for you that He came. Oh, dear brethren, He came for me? What am I that God, the infinite God, the God who needs nothing should come into history, step into history? to come and make himself confined, that he may come and be here. Why did he do that? He comes for us, and this was his pleasure. But we also see that he came at the right time, meaning this was also not random. It was not like God was busy and then suddenly remembers, oh no, no, no, now I think you can go. He did it, he timed it perfectly. He timed it for maximum impact. And brethren, in our daily realities, like relational conflicts, health challenges that we have seen, we have experienced, we often cry, why now? Why am I going through this? And the exiles here that Peter wrote to, the people who were facing persecution, found hope in knowing that Christ's coming was perfectly timed for them. What is going to face us this year, we don't know. But we can be prepared by anchoring ourselves in Christ, so that when those times come and beat us up, we'll still hope in Christ, and we'll still find our peace in Him. We will be strengthened. Christ's revelation means God intervenes right on schedule. He will come through for you at the right time. He will not let you be overwhelmed to destruction. He will not forget you forever. He will not forsake you forever. Even in the time of trial, he comes and provides what we need, the grace that we need, so that we may be able to bear under the weight of that trial at the right time. There is our hope that Christ's manifestation was timely. God's intervention in our lives will be timely. He will come. at the right time. That is the way God operates. This is our God. And you know, there are certain things that God will do to try and recalibrate us, to help us refocus. And that does not mean that he's changing our destination, no. You know, when you are using the the GPS or, you know, the Google Maps, for a trip, you put the location where you are going, and as you are going, you find the road has been closed because there are roadworks there. There is a dit one, or a diversion. And when you go out of that, that is not what the GPS had. So it will start recalculating. It is recalculating in order to take you to the destination, but it will find another route that will still get you to the destination. And God does that. When things appear to be going wrong, it is not because God has abandoned you. It is because God wants to weaken you so that you can still get to the destination. so that we find the best route now seeing this is the situation in your life what is the best route to get to the same destination and we find comfort and strength in getting back to what God has to say reading about the life of Christ, the mercy of Christ, the compassion of Christ. See it in the Gospels. See it, and that is applicable to you, and the Lord will come through for you. Remember, Christ was manifested for you. His life, His death, and all the teachings that God gave through him, those were timely gifts to help us navigate our lives. And in the last place, hope in Christ's resurrection and glory. That is what he deals with in the rest of the verses. We read, who through him are believers in God who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory. That is obviously talking about the Father. The Father raised Jesus who through Him, it is us who are believers in God. God who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory so that Your faith and my faith, your hope and my hope may be in God. So it is God's design that we are reliant on God. It is His design that we have no other hope. We have no other keeper. We have nothing else to take care of us. It is Him and Him alone. Our hope is in Him. And this was done by design. And what did He do? He raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and also glorified Him. Gave Him a name that is above every other name. Through Christ, we become faithful to God. And here, the Father raised him and gave him glory, exalting him after the resurrection. And what was the result? Our faith and our hope rests in God. This is the ultimate hope. And our hope is not in circumstances, but in the God who conquers death. That is our hope in the resurrection. And if things are not going all right and we see our parents are going down, deteriorating, but now we are the ones getting into the bracket of the parents. And we are beginning to feel funny things. The time is ticking. The bodies are wearing. When we are faced with those kinds of situations, we have our brethren who are deteriorating and becoming wasted. What do we do? We remember that Christ was raised from the dead, and there is our hope. God has conquered death. And Christ himself is the resurrection and the life. It is not the end. The challenges of this life, the pain and confusion and the deterioration that is going on is not the end. We shall conquer. We will be raised. Though our bodies go down, yet we are being glorified. And Christ was glorified, we too shall be glorified. And there is our hope. So that even when things are going wrong in your life, and the people are wondering, but this person, I mean, everything, everyone is against them, Everything is going wrong. But they still keep on with their God. You are not looking at your circumstances. You are looking beyond. You are looking to the resurrection. You are looking at what Christ has done. What God has done in Christ. He has raised Him. Let the resurrection remind you that God turns graves to gardens. Where there is hopelessness, there is hope. And in fact, rejoicing. When Lazarus died, we are told the angels came and took him to the presence of God. where he was comforted, where he now had reached his maker and was at peace, relieved from all the pain. And your faith will be unshaken. Your hope is not in self-help programs and apps or resolutions even. Our hope is in the risen glorified Christ. So brethren, let us consider that this Christ who was foreknown from eternity past and made manifest in the last days was raised from the dead and glorified, went through a process. What was he being raised from? From death. How did that death come about? Through pain and suffering and sacrifice. He shed his blood for us. He shed his blood so that this can be a reality. All this hope that we are talking about, that when we are faced with surprising things, even in relations, or you were expecting, you were promised a job, you were offered a job, great job with a great package, and suddenly it is withdrawn, even in those circumstances. The hope that we have in the fact that Jesus was predestined from eternity past, we can see that we are part of the program. All our circumstances, even this was predestined for me. It is not a surprise to God. And God will step in at the right time, just like the Lord Jesus Christ came and stepped into history for the first time. And that, even if it is so severe, It is not the end of it. There is a resurrection. We will be taken out of this. He shed his blood that this may happen. And that is why we have communion to remember because we are prone to forget. And the thing that He challenges us about is that we must remember. Remember Jesus. Because our biggest problem is not necessarily because we don't love Him, because we don't want Him, but because we forget Him. And here is an opportunity for us to remember the Lord Jesus Christ. He shed his blood. His body was broken for us. When he stepped into history, he came with a body prepared for him so that he may be able to die and shed his blood. And when he died, he was pierced, his body was broken, and we are told that the curtain was torn, which is the body of Christ, so that we may be able to enter in and have fellowship with God. All that God has done has come at a great price. And brethren, I would like to encourage you as you Participate in the Lord's Supper today that you may see that our hope is meant for us to be only in Christ, no other hopes or other ground is sinking sand. That is God's design. So that your hope may be in God. If you have hope in any other thing, expect to be frustrated. Expect it to fail at some point. Expect it to cause pain to you. Expect God to stand against you, to stand against it. But in all that you do, if you are reliant on God, going on with what he has sent us to do with a cultural mandate to go on and conquer and have dominion in Christ and your hope is not in those things but in your maker then you are fine and that is what he is encouraging us There the psalmist says, I lift my eyes to the mountains, to the hills. But then he asks the question, where does my help come from? The hills look imposing, and they show permanence and confidence. But then he sees his hope is not in the permanent appearance. But his help comes from the maker. of heaven and earth. That is God's design. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful for your goodness to us that you have done all these things at such a great price. Father, we thank you that you foreknew our Savior who was made manifest in time in the last days, in these times when he came. And Lord, we are thankful for the resurrection that you raised him from the dead and that you have glorified him. In these things, we have hope. And our Father, we thank you also that you have designed the things so that we can have no other hope but you. So help us, Lord, that we may accept this reality and entrust ourselves to you. We want to pray, O Lord, that as we partake in the Lord's Supper, you will bless the bread, you will bless the drink that have been prepared here, Lord, that they may be set apart for the purpose for which you have given them as symbols representing the body of Christ and representing the new covenant in the blood of our Savior. We want to pray, O Lord, that you will help us to love you, to renew our commitment to you, and rededicate ourselves, and go out with purpose that we are going to live for you in this blessed year that you have given us. O Lord, our God, we pray that you will honor yourself now, because we pray and ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Bye.