Today was a great day in the pulpit...
It really was. Not because of me but because of the Word. Our systematic study of the book of Matthew has made it so rich when we come to a passage of Scripture that could have been dealt with all alone, we now come to together with a lot of knowledge from the previous chapters to make the message and meaning so deep and also so relevant. I was just so overwhelmed by that this week. What I know because of study opens up the door to what I am reading and studying. The sermon preached itself, I was just the vocal communicator of it.
Peter's denials was the content but how did he get there? How did the man who walked and talked with Jesus for 3 years, the one who walked on water, the one who put his foot in his mouth at times but was also there to speak the Words of God, the one who was an eye witness of miracles and teachings get to the point of denying Christ not once, not twice but three times? So here is the progression that we can follow just as easily as he did.
1. the spiritual boast - chp. 26:33 - Do you ever catch yourself talking about how spiritual or holy you are? It is so fortunate that God has you on His team. What would the church do without me and my holiness and character.
2. the defiance of what Jesus just said - chp. 26:35 - You know what the Scripture says but you make an exception for yourself because you are so holy or at least holier than others who need it. You have enough in your holy bank to cover anything that you might do contrary to the Word of God.
3. the indifference to obey - chp. 26:40 - You have slacked off big time on the spiritual disciplines that are given to us through the Word to follow. You are slack on your worship time, slack on your prayer time, slack on your Bible time, slack on your fellowship with believers time, slack on your service to Him, slack on your giving to Him, just slack all around. Clear commands you are being indifferent to on a regular basis.
4. the impulsive world move to a situation rather than a God move - chp. 26:51 - You start giving back to the world what the world is dishing at you. You start talking and acting like the world and relying on your wits and wisdom instead of the Lord's. You have picked up the world's values and the world's ways even though you know God's ways.
So if you walk down this road of boasting about your own holiness and rationalizing away what the Bible says and slacking on time with the Lord in His many ways and taking on the world's way of doing things, it is not a far step to softly deny Him like Peter did first - "I don't know what you are talking about." Then you cover that lie with another but this has to be a little bit bigger and you add an oath to it like "I swear on a stack of Bibles." And then you cover that lie with another but this time you say something that is so against everything you have ever heard or seen, "May God curse me or strike me down if I am not telling the truth."
I have walked down this road and I have learned as Peter did that our coming back is by looking into the eyes of Jesus and remembering what He said before I ever headed down the road. It is getting out of the situation that I am in, most likely sinful for the purpose to get alone with my God and weep bitterly over my distrust of Him. I was just following Jesus, I wasn't truly trusting Him with everything. Somewhere I trusted in something or someone else rather than the Lord.
But the story is not about Peter's denials but about Peter's restoration. The story doesn't end here with the collapse. Peter turns and Jesus even told him about that too before the event. Peter looks upon Jesus and is used by Him to preach that first sermon at Pentecost, spend time in jail for the sake of Jesus, stand before the council for the sake of Jesus, spread the gospel and write to epistles for the sake of Jesus, and religious history says that he was crucified for the sake of Jesus, upside down because he didn't feel worthy to be hung on a cross like his Christ.
Some thoughts or maybe re-thoughts of the message this morning. On a side note but it does relate. I reserve the word "awesome" for God. I try to only use it when speaking of something about God. I picked up another one this week. I try to not use the phrase "I'm good." Just a phrase to say everything is okay. But biblically I'm not good. There is only One who is good. Any goodness that I have is because of Him. I have nothing to stand upon but the love and deeds of God who send His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Just another way not to feed that thought that I got this salvation because of any merit of me. He's good and I am not and what good I do is only because of and through Him. To God be all glory and praise.
Adam
Peter's denials was the content but how did he get there? How did the man who walked and talked with Jesus for 3 years, the one who walked on water, the one who put his foot in his mouth at times but was also there to speak the Words of God, the one who was an eye witness of miracles and teachings get to the point of denying Christ not once, not twice but three times? So here is the progression that we can follow just as easily as he did.
1. the spiritual boast - chp. 26:33 - Do you ever catch yourself talking about how spiritual or holy you are? It is so fortunate that God has you on His team. What would the church do without me and my holiness and character.
2. the defiance of what Jesus just said - chp. 26:35 - You know what the Scripture says but you make an exception for yourself because you are so holy or at least holier than others who need it. You have enough in your holy bank to cover anything that you might do contrary to the Word of God.
3. the indifference to obey - chp. 26:40 - You have slacked off big time on the spiritual disciplines that are given to us through the Word to follow. You are slack on your worship time, slack on your prayer time, slack on your Bible time, slack on your fellowship with believers time, slack on your service to Him, slack on your giving to Him, just slack all around. Clear commands you are being indifferent to on a regular basis.
4. the impulsive world move to a situation rather than a God move - chp. 26:51 - You start giving back to the world what the world is dishing at you. You start talking and acting like the world and relying on your wits and wisdom instead of the Lord's. You have picked up the world's values and the world's ways even though you know God's ways.
So if you walk down this road of boasting about your own holiness and rationalizing away what the Bible says and slacking on time with the Lord in His many ways and taking on the world's way of doing things, it is not a far step to softly deny Him like Peter did first - "I don't know what you are talking about." Then you cover that lie with another but this has to be a little bit bigger and you add an oath to it like "I swear on a stack of Bibles." And then you cover that lie with another but this time you say something that is so against everything you have ever heard or seen, "May God curse me or strike me down if I am not telling the truth."
I have walked down this road and I have learned as Peter did that our coming back is by looking into the eyes of Jesus and remembering what He said before I ever headed down the road. It is getting out of the situation that I am in, most likely sinful for the purpose to get alone with my God and weep bitterly over my distrust of Him. I was just following Jesus, I wasn't truly trusting Him with everything. Somewhere I trusted in something or someone else rather than the Lord.
But the story is not about Peter's denials but about Peter's restoration. The story doesn't end here with the collapse. Peter turns and Jesus even told him about that too before the event. Peter looks upon Jesus and is used by Him to preach that first sermon at Pentecost, spend time in jail for the sake of Jesus, stand before the council for the sake of Jesus, spread the gospel and write to epistles for the sake of Jesus, and religious history says that he was crucified for the sake of Jesus, upside down because he didn't feel worthy to be hung on a cross like his Christ.
Some thoughts or maybe re-thoughts of the message this morning. On a side note but it does relate. I reserve the word "awesome" for God. I try to only use it when speaking of something about God. I picked up another one this week. I try to not use the phrase "I'm good." Just a phrase to say everything is okay. But biblically I'm not good. There is only One who is good. Any goodness that I have is because of Him. I have nothing to stand upon but the love and deeds of God who send His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Just another way not to feed that thought that I got this salvation because of any merit of me. He's good and I am not and what good I do is only because of and through Him. To God be all glory and praise.
Adam
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