A song writer once wrote that each of us have a God-shaped
hole in our heart and nothing can fill that void accept a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ. Bill Fay would agree with that. He was born to an upper middle class
family. His father was the president of
General Foods and introduced a frozen food line called “Bird’s eye.” There’s a good chance you have purchased some
of their product at your local grocery store.
Bill admits he grew up with a silver spoon in his
mouth. He never did without whatever he
wanted. Sadly, his father’s spending
habits caused him to die penny-less in a veteran’s hospital. Bill decided that he would not die that
way. He would live life to the fullest,
thinking of no one else but himself.
At age 16, he got a girl pregnant and married her. He went off to college after High
School. In college he met a man who
taught him to be a professional gambler. Bill put himself through college by playing
card games. After graduation he divorced
his wife and walked away from his daughter so he could advance his career. Bill met and married another woman and at age
22 he was hired by an Atlanta corporation and quickly became their number 1
salesman.
Shortly afterwards, he was invited to Las Vegas where he was
enamored by the power, money and women.
He said; “If I can just get
connected into all this, my life will be fine.” On that trip that he met a man at a card
table who lost $200,000 in just 20 minutes and acted as if it was nothing. Bill was impressed. The man invited him to play a game and in
just fifteen minutes, Bill won over $250,000.
Despite the money and power he was gaining, he was still
miserable. One day, Bill was talking to
a woman on the telephone. He asked her, “What do you want out of life?” She replied; “Money and power.” This
captivated Bill and he left his second wife of 12 years and married this other
woman. The new couple moved to Denver and
he became the CEO of a multimillion-dollar Corporation. One afternoon he stood in his office, looked
over his mahogany desk, had his chauffeur-driven limousine outside, had an
unlimited expense account, diamond rings, Rolexes, gold jewelry and he thought;
“What’s next? I have both legal and illegal money. I have power, both corporately and illegally,
yet something is missing.”
It wasn’t long until his third wife left and Bill met and
married his fourth wife. He decided he would help men with their loneliness and
opened Fantasy Island in Lakewood, Colorado, one of the largest houses of
prostitution in the Unites States.
Sounds like a movie doesn’t it?
But it isn’t, it is the life of Bill Fay.
There are many people living like Bill Fay. They may not have the power or money, but they are searching for love, searching for hope, and searching for what is missing in their heart.
They are asking; “Is this all
there is? I Want More!”
In 1 Peter chapter 1, the Apostle Peter is writing to
Christians who were the opposite of men like Bill Fay. These early Christ-followers had been driven
from their home in Jerusalem through persecution. They had no power, no money, and no homeland. Yet they have what Bill Fay and many people
today are longing for, they had a Hope that was Alive in their Soul.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In
his great mercy he has given us new birth into
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead” 1
Peter 1:3
Look at how Peter expresses himself in reference to the
living hope we receive in Christ Jesus.
He writes, “Praise be to God….he has given us new birth...a living hope…” Understand this, when the Peter states that
those who surrender to Christ receive a living hope, he is not referring to
hope the way many of us do.
We consider
hope as something we want to happen but are not sure if it will. That is not what the word hope means in this
verse. Hope here means, “a certain
expectation.” Here is the good news
about this living hope, when we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, we receive
the promise that we have peace with God and are as assured of heaven as if we
were already there!
If you have surrendered your life to Christ, you have this living
hope in your NOW.
You also have this living hope for your TOMORROWS. Look at what Peter writes next.
“and into an inheritance that
can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven
for you…” 1 Peter 1:4
One day Albert Einstein boarded a train from Princeton. The
conductor came by asking to punch the tickets.
Einstein was brilliant man, but a little absent minded. Einstein could not find his ticket; he looked
in his pockets, through his luggage, and could not find his ticket. The conductor said; “It’s alright Mr.
Einstein, I know who you are.” Then the
conductor turned and walked away. He
looked back and saw Einstein looking under his seat. The conductor came back and said; “Mr.
Einstein, I don’t need your ticket, I know who you are.” Einstein said; “I know who I am too, but I
need to know where I’m going.”
Do you know where you’re going when your time on this Earth
is done? Peter says we can have a Living
Hope in Christ and know beyond any doubt that we have Eternal Life in Heaven. Look at how Peter describes it. Our
inheritance in Christ will never perish, never spoil and never fade away!
Now let me finish the story of Bill Fay. Bill loved racquetball. One day while coming into the gym he met a
guy named Paul. Bill began to ridicule him because he was a Christian. Shortly after that, Bill and his fourth wife
took a trip to Las Vegas. While there,
his attorney called and told him the prostitution house had been raided and
there was a warrant for his arrest. Soon
the media caught the news and Bill was devastated. The only person who ever called and checked
on him was Paul. One day Bill was
sitting at his kitchen table crying uncontrollably. His non-believing wife suggested they go see
the man who had married them. Bill did
not want to go see him, but the Holy Spirit would not stop working on Bill’s
heart. He called the pastor and said
that he wanted inner peace in his life.
The next day, he drove 85 miles to a little country church. At 10:00 a.m. on March 4, 1981, Bill Fay met
Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and He received the Living Hope that he had
always longed for.
What about you?
Will you…
- Believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, His death, burial and
resurrection?
- Trust Him to take away your sins and forgive you?
- Invite Him to be Your Lord and receive a Living Hope?
