We Started a 2 Month-Long Series On Sunday Nights Last Week

It’s Called “Radical Change”

We are Going to Be Looking at People From the Old and New Testaments…

Who Experienced Radical Change By and For the Lord

The Goal of this Series is to Persuade and Motivate Us Toward Radical Change

If You’ve Not Watched “The Chosen”, You Need to

There‘s a Quote that Goes Like This

“I was one way, and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.”

That Quote Illustrates the Point I Want These Lessons to Communicate

Radical Change is About God

With Every Person We Study Who Goes Through Radical Change…

We Will See God Right in the Middle of it All

God Wants to Radically Change Us into the Image and Character of Jesus

But We Must Be Willing and Desire to Be Changed

Tonight, We are Going to Look at One of the Most Relatable People in the Bible

Peter

We Feel Comfortable Around Peter

He’s Just Like Us

He Has Days Where He’s On Top of the World

And He Has Days Where He Hits Rock Bottom

He Had Times of Amazing Faith

And He Had Times of Major Mistakes

He Had Moments of Walking On Water

And He Had Moments of Sinking

Seeing the Humanity of Peter (His Highs and Lows)…

Reminds Us that if Someone as Imperfect as Peter…

Was Loved, Used, and Saved By Jesus…

Then Surely Jesus Can Love, Use, and Save Me

If I Were to Ask You, “What was the Lowest Point in Peter’s Life?”…

We Would Probably All Give the Same Answer

Matthew 26:69–75 (NIV)

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.” Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Just Moments Before Denying His Lord, Savior, and Friend…

Peter Said These Words to Jesus:

Matthew 26:35 (NAS)

Peter *said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

Peter Believed He was Willing to Suffer and Die for Jesus

But When the Opportunity Arose, He Wasn’t

But, Fast Forward in Time and We See a Different Peter

When Confronted By Authorities, This Peter Isn’t Ashamed of Jesus

Acts 4:19–20 (LEB)

But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide! For we are not able to refrain from speaking about the things that we have seen and heard.”

When Commanded By Authorities to Deny Jesus, This Peter Says:

Acts 5:29 (CSB)

Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.

This is a Very Different Man Than We Saw On the Night of Jesus’ Betrayal

He is Radically Changed

Several Years Later, This Radically Changed Man…

Would Go On to Write a Letter to Suffering Christians

In This Letter, He Offers Them Hope in Their Sufferings

This is What 1 Peter is All About - Hope

The Man Who Once Denied Jesus to Escape Suffering…

Is Now Helping Other Christians Endure Suffering for Jesus

To Understand What God Did to Bring About This Radical Change in Peter…

Let’s Study the Beginning of His Letter of Hope

1 Peter 1:3–5 (NAS)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Peter Begins His Letter to a Suffering/Persecuted People with “Praise God!”

“Praise the God and Father of Lord Jesus for His Great Mercy”

God, Through His Great Mercy, Has Caused Us to Be Born Again

When a Person Becomes a Christian, They are Born into Christianity

When a Person is Baptized into Christ, They Become a New Creation

They are Newborns in the Family and Kingdom of God

And Their New Life in Christ is a Life of Hope

This Hope is Described as a Living Hope

What Does it Mean to Have a Hope that is Alive?

It Has Everything to Do With Where Our Hope Comes From

Our Hope Comes From the Resurrection of Jesus

What Does it Mean to Have a Living Hope?

It Means Our Hope Will Die the Moment Jesus Does

As Long as Our Resurrected Savior is Alive…

As Long as Our Resurrected King is On the Throne…

As Long as Our Resurrected High Priest is in the Most Holy Place…

We Will Continue to Have Hope

What Does Our Living Hope Consist of?

The Christian’s Living Hope is Our Incorruptible, Undefiled, Everlasting Inheritance

As Christians, We are Heirs of God

That Means We Have Been Adopted into the Family of God

We Have Been Given the Right to Inherit What Belongs to Him

In the OT, Israel’s Inheritance Typically Referred to the Promised Land

A Beautiful Place of Peace and Prosperity

And in Christ, Our Inheritance is the Promised Land Reserved in Heaven for Us

This Promised Land is Better Because:

It Cannot Be Corrupted or Experience Death/Decay Like Our Present World

It Cannot Be Defiled By Sin and Wickedness Like Our Present World

And it Will Never Fade Away Unlike Our Present World

Because of the Mercy of God in Resurrecting Jesus…

Those Who Have Been Born Again Have a Living Hope of a Better Home Prepared for Us

As Christians, Peter Tells Us that Our Salvation that We Will Receive When Jesus Returns…

Is Currently Being Protected By the Power of God Through Our Faith

As Long as We Continue to Have Faith/Trust God…

He Protects/Guards Our Salvation

If That Doesn’t Give You Confidence and Hope, Nothing Will

This is the Very Beginning of Peter’s Letter of Hope to Suffering Christians

I Think What He Says to These Suffering Christians…

Gives Us an Indication of What Led to His Radical Change

A Radical Change From Self-Preservation to Self-Sacrifice

Peter Witnessed the Resurrection of His Lord

And With His Resurrection Came a Living Hope

A Hope of an Imperishable, Undefiled, Everlasting Inheritance

A Hope of Salvation that is Guarded By God Until Jesus Returns

And a Hope that Suffering for Jesus Will Prove Faith to Be Genuine, Resulting in Salvation

1 Peter 1:6–9 (NAS)

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

Though There Were Likely Many Things that Contributed to Peter’s Radical Change…

One Thing is Clear:

Because of the Resurrection of Jesus, Peter Found Hope

And This Hope Radically Changed Peter to the Glory of Jesus

The Very Thing that Gave Peter Hope…

And the Very Things that Peter Hoped for…

Are the Same Things that Can Give Us Hope and Be Our Hope Today

Because of Jesus’ Resurrection…

We Have Hope of an Eternal Inheritance and an Assured Salvation

May Our Hope Radically Change Us the Way it Radically Changed Peter