Peter Tan-Chi - In Tough Times, Living Hope Transforms
Greetings to everyone all over the world, and a special greeting to all the mothers! Happy Mother's Day! Today, I've invited the most amazing mother, the mother of my five children, to read a poem she wrote for all mothers. Let's welcome Deonna! Happy Mother's Day to all of you amazing moms! God bless! Once again, from the bottom of my heart, I praise God for all of you mothers! Somebody once said that the influence of a mother to her children is beyond calculation.
Today, I'd like to dedicate this message to all mothers. Of course, not just to mothers, but to everybody, but especially to mothers. The reality is, sooner or later, you and I would encounter tough times. And during tough times, do we become victims or do we become victors? During tough times, are we able to transcend or do we become discouraged? Do we become disillusioned or are we able to experience real joy, real victory? Last Sunday, we begun our series on the book of 1 Peter. Why? Because the book of 1 Peter was written to encourage believers scattered all over Asia Minor. They were facing tough times and Peter wanted to help them, to encourage them.
Last Sunday, we talked about in tough times, what must we do? Live in hope. Living hope brings joy. Today, we will continue the episode 2 of navigating through tough times. We will talk about in tough times, living hope transforms. It not only brings joy, it transforms. What do I mean? Let's look at 1 Peter 1:13. Before I explain this verse, I'd like you to notice something: the word "therefore". Every time you see the word "therefore" you need to look at the previous verses. Why is "therefore" there? In 1 Peter 1:3, he talks about In other words, because God has caused this living hope is real, based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And what does this living hope do for you? He tells us, He reminds us, you can have living hope because you are sure to receive an amazing inheritance. And you are protected by God. And because of this certainty, because of this living hope, he further wrote the following: In other words, because of this living hope, you can rejoice even when you encounter trials, difficulties. That's what he said. The emphasis is you can greatly rejoice even though you are in the midst of trials. And he continues. So, the verses before 1 Peter 1:13 are as follows. He tells us, because of the certainty of this living hope What Peter is saying is our living hope, the certainty of our salvation, is something that the Old Testament talks about. Peter is saying, it is not something new. Peter is saying, it was prophesied. In other words, our living hope, our salvation, was prophesied in the Old Testament. It is not something we invented.
Secondly, our living hope is anchored on a person. It's about the Messiah. He talks about Here, you see, our living hope our salvation, is anchored on not just the Old Testament prophecy, it's about a Person, His sufferings, and His glory. And many times, people separate the two. You cannot separate the amazing prophecy of the Messiah, suffering and glories to follow. It talks about the death of Christ on the cross and His resurrection, the glories to follow. He continues by telling us, I want you to notice the following. Our salvation is not just predicted in the Old Testament. Our salvation is not just prophesied about a coming Messiah that will suffer, and that would be glorious. But above all, our salvation is contained in the Good News, the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit is involved. The Holy Spirit is always at work. In the Old Testament, He talks about the Spirit of Christ.
Now, He talks about the holy Spirit sent from heaven I want to emphasize this salvation is so glorious, so amazing, that angels long to look. What in the world does this mean, that our salvation is something that angels are so curious? Most people have not understood the importance of our salvation. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 3:10 this is what it says, Notice, our salvation has to do with the wisdom of God What the Bible is saying, is simply this: Our salvation is not just for us who are living on planet Earth, our salvation has a cosmic dimension. It is to demonstrate the wisdom of God to... Notice, the wisdom of God In other words, our salvation and how we respond to our salvation is being watched by angelic beings. It's being watched by rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. That is how precious, our salvation is, how majestic, how awesome, how grand is our salvation. Because of this, the next verse tells us what you must do.
Now, do you understand? Because our salvation is so amazing, the living hope therefore, what must you do? Living hope is not just wishing. It isn't just wishful thinking. It is something so real that it will compel actions. And that's why, the topic today is: This verse has three action words. It begins with the mind, prepare your minds for action. Next, keep sober in spirit. And lastly, fix your hope completely. Why do we begin in the mind? Let me tell you why the mind is so crucial. The Bible tells us, The mind is foundational. Right thinking will produce the right kind of emotions and it will produce the right kind of actions. Do you recall the TEA principle? To live a transformed life, you must begin with right thinking.
And Peter is saying, I want you to think clearly. He is saying, let all your mind be focused on this: clear thinking. And then he followed up with another action word: be sober in spirit. Don't get drunk. Don't have fuzzy thinking. Christianity is a faith that requires thinking. It is not blind faith. In fact, the Bible tells us, you need to think. What you think is so crucial. Wrong thinking, wrong behavior. What do I mean? Let me give you an example of right thinking versus wrong thinking. Many times, we don't process things clearly. Let's say you have the COVID-19 virus and you see a doctor. And the doctor tells you, you take this medicine and you will surely be cured. And you nod your head.
You say, "Yes, I believe". But then, when you leave the doctor, you don't take the medicine. That is the meaning. You are not thinking clearly, because to think clearly, to really believe that the medicine will cure you, will require action. And that's what Peter is saying. You think clearly of the reality of God's promises, the living hope, the certainty of His coming again, fix your hope completely on the grace. You got to fix your hope completely. And if you really believe that Jesus is coming again, if you really believe He promised us amazing inheritance, the Bible is saying, if you really believe about the hope that He promised us, living hope, what must you do? You must fix, notice the word again, fix your hope, fix your hope, the living hope, completely, not partially, on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, at the coming of Jesus.
And notice what is that hope? It's anchored on Jesus. It's anchored on grace, on the grace to be revealed. The word grace means what? Something you don't deserve. The word grace means what? Undeserved favor. The word grace is a precious word. God is saying, when He comes again, the highlight of His coming, fix your hope completely on the grace. God's grace will be fully manifested, and it's not about you, it's about his grace for you and for me to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is coming again. And if you really believe in that, you are going to act differently. What do I mean? How will right thinking impact your behavior?
Look at what the Bible says. In these verses, you now have two verbs. The first one is, do not be conformed. In other words, because you are fixing your hope completely on the second coming of Jesus, your mind is very clear. You're able to think of eternal perspective. And that is so true, he now tells you, Do not copy the world. Their behavior is out of ignorance. He wants you to be holy, for God is holy. This is dependent on the reality that what God tells us is something that's going to be worthwhile. So, how will this living hope transform your life? This will transform your life because of your mindset. God is telling us, if you really believe He's coming soon, He's coming again, then you will want to do what is pleasing to Him. And he tells us, the verb in 1 Peter 1:14-16, the command, the primary verb is be holy. Do not be conformed is supporting the primary verb be holy.
In Romans 12:2 the Bible says, You will notice, do not be conformed. Don't copy. That's a command. Don't copy the behavior of the world. The grammar is exactly the same as 1 Peter. Stop copying the behavior of the world. Don't copy. What do I mean? Many times, Christians are not conscious, you are not even aware, that you are copying the behavior of the world. Let me give you an example. Young people used to say, "Everyone is doing it and because everyone is doing it, it must be okay". Take the example of premarital sex. I was shocked to discover that based on the survey done by George Barna in the States, premarital sex among church-goers is just as high as people who don't go to church. There is no difference. The divorce rate among people who go to church and those who don't go to church are also almost the same. In fact, those who go to church are even worse. Why? Because people who don't go to church, they don't get married anymore.
So probably, the divorce rate seems to be lower, but the truth is this, we are consciously and unconsciously copying the behavior of the world. Our values have become worldly. And that's what he's saying. If you are so sure of the coming of Jesus, our amazing living hope, live transformed lives. And how do we live transformed lives? He tells us, Do you notice the instruction is so clear? People today don't like to talk about being holy, because for them, the word holy gives them negative ideas. For many people, to be holy means what? I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't take drugs. I don't have premarital sex. Friends, these are all negatives. The word holy is more than just saying I don't do this. The word holy is a big word. It is not just, "I don't do this, I don't do that," but your life is set apart, you are devoted to the Lord.
So, when people often ask me, "How much time should I serve the Lord"? When people ask me, "How much money should I tithe, should I give"? I realize that these people have not understood the meaning of the word holy. You see, the word holy, when applied to objects, to things, it means it is set apart for God. So, the Bible talks about the tithe is holy. That belongs to the Lord. The Bible talks about our bodies, holy. It means it belongs the Lord. So, when people ask you, "How much time should I give to the Lord? How much money should I give," they're thinking all the minimum. But my friend, holy means what? To be totally devoted, to be totally consecrated. Be holy. You are to be set apart because when the Bible says "God is holy," that word "holy" means what?
God is set apart by Himself. He's unlike any human being. He's unlike any of His creation. It's the superlative of all attributes. The word holy simply means what? The Bible talks about God is light, there's no darkness, absolute purity. There's no equal. God is apart from creation. When the Bible talks about God is holy, it gives us the greatest comfort. What do I mean? Somebody once said, power is God's arm. Omniscience is God's eyes. Love is God's heart. Holiness is God's beauty. What is he saying? The word holy, the absolute goodness of God, is our comfort. When the Bible says God is holy, you can take comfort, because His power is holy. God is holy in His wisdom. God is holy in his love. The word holy will now clarify everything about God. You can rest assured.
That's why, if you are not able to trust God, that means you have not understood the holiness of God. The holiness of God gives me tremendous comfort that I will trust Him. I will do what He says because God is absolutely good. But when the Bible talks about you and I must be holy, it's talking about we must be like Him. Do you notice that God never commands children, "Be almighty like Me. Be omniscient like me"? No, the command is "Be holy for I am holy". What does that mean? That means, God wants us to be holy, you and I are capable of being holy, because God will never command you to do something you cannot, and God wants you to be holy, and God wants us to be holy, and we must be holy.
You see, the word holiness is no longer emphasized today because we failed to understand the beauty and the significance of transformation. Transformation means to live a holy life. A holy life means what? A separated life for God. Holiness does not mean God is a cosmic killjoy. You see, for many people, the word "holy" means what? Everything is negative. You cannot drink, you can't have fun in life, everything is negative. No, no, no. My God is holy. He only wants what's best for me. Therefore, whatever He tells me to do, I like to do it. Why? Because I know Him. I delight to follow Him. So, when the Bible uses the word be holy, don't be confused, because the word holy is a big word. Literally, as I've said before, it is to live a life set apart for God. On the other hand, the word holy can also mean sanctification, the same root word "hagiasmos".
Now, the Bible talks about two kinds of holiness. The first kind is positional holiness, meaning your sins have been completely forgiven. You are holy in the eyes of God. The other word for holy, has to do with prectical holiness. It is called progressive sanctification. It has to do with your behavior, your action. 1 Peter 1 is referring to progressive sanctification. Peter said, be holy in all your behavior. So, let me explain in a simple chart so that you won't be confused. When the Bible says living hope transforms lives, it will transform you, that transformation has to do with living a holy life. And what does that mean? Well, let me show you this chart. Positional holiness, positional sanctification versus progressive sanctification. The word sanctification is also the root word for holy, hagiasmos. Positionally, justification. It's a theological term.
Legally, before God, you are completely forgiven, as if you have never committed any sin. Progressive sanctification is practical holiness. Are you behaving based on who you are? Is your behavior Christlike? Positional sanctification is a decisive moment. The day you realize Jesus Christ died on the cross by faith, you commit your life to Him, at that moment, the Bible says you are a child of God, you are completely forgiven. Versus progressive scientification, it is a continuous work of God. It is continuous. Positional sanctification, it's the finished work of Christ. It's all about what He did on the cross. He paid for your sins. What about progressive sanctification? It is God's work and man's work. You need to cooperate with Him. The objective is towards Christlikeness.
You see, when I came to Christ, my sins have been forgiven. However, I have certain bad habits. And now, I'm in the process of being transformed by the Lord. And that's why God allows pain. He allows pressure. He allows difficulties to transform our lives. Positional sanctification deals with the forgiveness of sin once and for all. Progressive sanctification deals with what? Overcoming the power of sin. This is a lifetime journey so that you and I can become more and more Christlike. And what is 1 Peter talking about? He's talking about progressive holiness. Progressive sanctification. This is a command. This is not a suggestion, you are to be holy. It means God wants us to be holy. It means you are able to be holy. God will never give us a command that we cannot do.
Can I tell you why? Because He gives you the Holy Spirit. He gives you the power to live in such a way that you become more and more Christ-like. Why should you be transformed? He tells us in 1 Peter 1:17, The reason why we are to be transformed is very simple. Because you realize that Jesus, God, is going to judge us. If you address as Father, the One who impartially judges, according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay. Peter is repeating what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians. Why? Because all of us will give an account. Many Christians are not taught the reality that God is the Judge. And that the reality that someday you will stand before Him.
So my friend, what is Peter saying? Live a transformed life. Why? Not only because of the certainty of His grace, His coming, but God is going to be our Judge. And this truth should encourage us. It should not cause fear because if you are fully aware that God is going to be the Judge, you will find comfort in doing what is good. You will be excited to look forward to the coming of Jesus. But if you refuse to follow the commands of God, then you have every right to be afraid. What kind of a god is a god that will tolerate evil? What kind of a judge would that be if a judge is indifferent towards sin? What kind of a judge will overlook wickedness? I praise God, the Bible says, God is holy and He's a holy judge!
Do you begin to realize now that in tough times, living hope will transform? Living hope transforms, you know why? You know whatever you do for Jesus will be rewarded, because God is holy, God is our Judge, God says, "Whatever good you have done will not be forgotten," and you don't have to be afraid because God is a good Judge. He wants to reward us. How can I be sure? Look at the next sentence, it talks about you and I have been redeemed completely. The reason why you have living hope that transforms is very simple. Do you know why you would want to be transformed? Do you want to live a holy life? Because you know how precious you are! You were redeemed. The Bible tells us, your redemption is so costly. God redeemed us. That word redeem is a very important word. It has to do with God bought us back from the slavery, from the slave market of sin.
So, the word redeemed, in Tagalog, tinubos tayo. The bankers will understand this. When you redeem a piece of property, you are buying it back. Now, the Bible tells us you are so precious that gold and silver was not paid for you. It is something more precious than gold and silver, it has to do with the precious blood of Jesus. Will you notice those expressions? Precious blood, unblemished, spotless. This is a picture of the Old Testament, how they sacrifice animals, that is unblemished, that is spotless. Why? The Old Testament is always a foreshadow of the New Testament. Why should the Old Testament animals be spotless? Because it is, it is a picture of what Jesus will do for us.
So my friend, I'd like you to know something, you are so valuable. You are so precious. That Jesus died on the cross for your sins. Once you understand this with a clear mind, how precious is your redemption, you will guard your life. You will live your life in a different way. Let me give you an example. Many years ago, somebody gave me this amazing ballpen. This is called Montblanc. You can see the insignia here. When I checked the price of this amazing Montblanc pen, it is so expensive. I realized my friend invested money to give this to me as a gift. It is so precious. Believe it or not. I have not lost this pen, even though it's already 10 years, but I've lost so many other ballpens. You know why? Those other ballpens they are not precious. They are cheap. I keep losing them. I keep misplacing them. But this one, my office will know, for 10 years, I still have it. You know why? It's precious. I guard it.
The Bible is saying, your soul, your life is so precious because God redeemed you with His own blood. Therefore, live a transformed life. Be Holy. Your salvation is so precious that the next verse tells us, Jesus, our savior was Our salvation is all anchored on Jesus. Do you know how precious that is? Notice the word used. In other words, Jesus died for us foreknown is from the word pro ginosko, God planned this long time ago, even before the foundation of the world. Jesus came at the right time, but His plan to die for us was even determined long time ago, before creation. That is how special you are. Before the world was made, God thought of you. Jesus thought of you.
And that's why the Bible tells us, in 1 Peter 1:21, That's why you live a transformed life. What does it mean to be transformed? Transformation is the work of God in our hearts, but we must cooperate with Him. So to be transformed means what? It tells you something you need to do also. It tells us you are to love. Notice. The Bible tells us because of this living hope, because of the reality of Christ in us, because you realize that Jesus is coming again and He's going to be our judge, and you realize your salvation is so precious. You'd want to live differently. You don't want to copy the ways of the world. And He tells us to be Holy. To be transformed is also active. You love one another. You are to love fervently.
Notice, fervently love one another. To be Holy is to be Christ-like and to be Christ-like is to learn to love one another fervently. You know, I discovered some of the hardest people to love are family members, why? It's easy to love strangers. It's easy to love people that you see once in a while. But to love people that you live with daily, you're always living together, my goodness. You need the Holy Spirit to help you. That's why it says, Notice the word is fervently. I'm teaching our grandchildren to love one another to love their parents. Can I tell you how I teach them? I say, think of others. I tell them, serve them.
When we're sitting down and somebody wants water, my advice is you will serve them. Fervently love means what? You think of others. And that's the meaning of being transformed. You become Christ-like, you serve one another. But to be able to love one another, notice. No excuse. Why? The Bible says the reason why you can be transformed, the reason why you can be Holy, the reason why you can love one another is because you have been born again. You see the foundation of the Christian life is a relationship with Jesus. The moment you are born again, notice the word born again is repeated. When Christ comes into your heart, you are given His life. The Holy Spirit gives you a new nature. That's the meaning of the word born again. Our nature dictates our appetite. It dictates how we live.
For example, if you have a pig, as a house pet, you can shampoo it, you can clean it, but the moment you allow the pig to go out of your house, it finds a mud hole, it will just wallow in the mud. You know why? It is the nature of the pig to enjoy the mud hole. However, if you have a sheep and then you allow it to go outside the house, It is possible that the sheep will fall into a mud hole, but you will notice a difference, when it falls into a mud hole, the sheep will want to get out of the mud hole. The only way you can permanently transform a pig from enjoying mud holes is to change the heart of the pig, to change the nature of the pig. And that's why being born again is crucial. Once you have Jesus in your heart, He gives you a new nature. You begin to have a desire for God's word.
Remember, it's not perfection, but it's progressive. You begin to see changes in your life. You see, the word of God is living, it has power. The word of God is truth. It's enduring forever. And that's the implication of being born again. We're born again when we have Jesus, He's called the living word of God. The word is living. God's word is living. Jesus is also the living word of God. In other words, you begin to understand when Jesus talks about Only Jesus can make that amazing claim. His words, what He says will come true. And that's how we are born again, based on the promise of God, based on the promise of Jesus. If you, ask Him to be your Lord and Savior, the Bible says you are born again.
That's why Peter tells us Why can you live a transformed life? He tells us because of this living hope because your mind is now thinking clearly you realize your hope is set completely on His second coming. Why should you live a transformed life? He tells you because God is our judge. God tells you your life, your redemption is so precious. That's why you'll live a transformed life because of what He did for us. Why should you live a transformed life? Because of God's Spirit at work in your heart. That's why He says love one another. That's how you live a transformed life, by loving one another. And the reason why you can do it is because you are born again, through the word of God. You can now see how the word of God and living a transformed life go together. Not only because you are born again.
Notice, as we finish, in 1 Peter 2:1-3, he tells us what is holiness? What is holiness? It's practical holiness. Do you notice these are sins that people don't see. These are sins of the heart and sins of the tongue. Putting aside, all malice, you know, what is malice? When you are planning evil against somebody. Sin of the heart, malice. All deceit. You're manipulative, you are planning purposely to fool people. These are sins of the heart. Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is a picture of somebody wearing a mask. You are pretending to be something, somebody you are not. Hypocrisy and all about... it's all about pride. You want to impress people, you get rid of that.
Envy. Envy is an amazing sin that very few people confess, why? Remember the disciples? They were envious of each other. They want to sit on the right or on the left of Jesus. There are many Christians today who are envious because of how others are treated. Envy is a dangerous sin. It leads to other sins, like Cain. Cain murdered his brother, Abel, why? He was envious. Be careful. Peter is saying, to be Holy, to be transformed, you get rid of all of these so-called respectable sins that people cannot see and notice it says, and all slander. Do you know that many Christians are guilty of slander? You say negative things about other people. Sometimes we fail to guard our tongue, and holiness is practical. To be transformed is practical. Putting aside all, putting aside the word picture here is clothing. You put aside, smelly clothing, dirty clothing. You put them all aside.
And Peter is saying, to be transformed, you put them all aside. How can you be transformed? Notice. Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word. Like newborn babies. He's now comparing being born again to a physical birth. You see a baby will grow. How will a baby grow? A baby, because of its nature, the life of the baby, will become hungry. It would want to drink milk. Like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word, a baby would have appetite. So that by it, you may grow in respect to salvation. Look at the analogy. This is so important. You must understand when you become a child of God, when you are born again, it is inevitable that you'll grow. It is inevitable that you will live a transformed life. Why? Because nature will dictate your appetite, nature will dictate your behavior.
Life will dictate growth. What do I mean? If a baby does not hunger for milk, there are only the following possible reasons: the baby is sick, it has lost its appetite. There are some Christians today who are sick. You have lost your appetite for the word of God. But the healthy baby will want to drink milk, a healthy Christian will have a hunger for God's word, you will delight to study God's word. But if you are spiritually sick, you will not have appetite. But worst of all, a baby that has no appetite, you know, what's the possible reason? If a baby is dead, if there's no life. No life, no appetite. My concern is there will be some Christians who never had any appetite for God's word. Can I tell you why? Is it possible you have religion, but you don't have the life of Christ? You were never really born again.
The life of Christ is not in us. You don't have the Spirit of God. There is no appetite for God's word. You never had this appetite. May I suggest something? It's never too late. In a short while, I want to pray for you. So that you will come face to face with the living God and ask Him to be your Lord and savior. As you examine yourself, are you a healthy Christian? Or perhaps something's wrong? When the baby is sick, there has to be reasons. When a Christian is sick, perhaps you have a virus. The virus is called sin. You need to deal with it. I don't know what it is.
First Peter says, get rid of all of these sins. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander, get rid of them. I don't know what is in your heart, but you need to deal with it. Or there may be some of you here, in all honesty, you can say "Peter, I have never been born again. I don't have a new life. I'm not even a spiritual baby. I need to be born again". I want to pray for you. I want to pray with you. If that's your desire, please pray with me.
Lord Jesus, I realize I really don't have Your life. I don't have a hunger for Your word. I don't have a desire to be transformed. Today, Lord Jesus. I humble myself, knowing that You're the judge of the living and the dead, knowing that You will come again. So Lord Jesus, I invite You today. I invite Jesus, I invite You Jesus to come into my life. Be my Lord, be my savior. I accept Your gift of forgiveness. I accept Your promise of eternal life. Change my heart. In Jesus' name. I pray. Amen.