Good Morning Beloved,
Thank you for joining us today.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for what You are going to do within our hearts today,
for Your Word, more powerful, sharper than a two edged sword
help us to understand the truth You have for us today
that we might be forever changed by it, that we would become
more useful to You, for Your plans and purposes
for the furtherance of the gospel, all for Your glory
and increase in Your kingdom
in Jesus' name
Amen
Much to my surprise, when I awoke the other morning, I heard a rooster crow. Now, I’d first like to point out here, that I do not live in the country, or even near it. I reside in a rather large metropolitan city. Yet, very distinctively, I heard the cock crow, several times. Being a minister, I was quickly reminded, of the biblical story of Peter denying our Lord. I immediately arose and said, “Lord, what are you trying to tell me here?”
Peter was as we know, headstrong, impulsive, and sure of himself. In so many ways, a man just like many of us. Jesus told Peter, that Satan was out to get him. However, Peter,in being Peter,would have none of it. I’m sure we have all asked, “Lord, don’t let me be like Peter!”
We read in Luke 22:31-32, "Simon, Simon,look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
And in Luke 22:33-34, “Lord,”he told Him, “I’m ready to go with You both to prison and to death! “ ?I tell you, Peter," He said, "the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know Me!" Be Ready for Trouble
Peter, had such allegiance, such dedication. Such love for Christ. However, don’t we all, those of us, who have been serving the Lord for any length of time, feel the same way? Though we may not publicly express it as Peter did, but deep down inside, don’t we believe that we are God’s own, ready to do His bidding at a moment’s notice? We profess, “I’ll go anywhere, I’ll do anything, for you Jesus! Use me.” Am I right?
And, while that's all very admirable, and honorable, and right, but this attitude can potentially become our undoing, even temporarily. I’m sure Peter did not believed what Jesus had told him, most likely not even giving it a second thought. However, we know the truth about what happened don’t we? He would, much like ourselves, have done well to remember the rooster. As Peter’s fall should have been expected.
In Luke chapter 5:4,we are given a glimpse into his character. We read: When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon,“Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” And in verse 5; “Master,”Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.”
Scripture makes it clear that after his denial, he went out and wept bitterly. So that night, and the days following, must have been extremely difficult for Peter. If it were not for his faith, which never failed, he may have ended up just as Judas did.
Other than the obvious, what does it really mean to deny Jesus? Should denying Him be simply confined to saying that we don’t know Him? There are actually several other ways in which we can be found guilty of denying the Lord.
We are denying Jesus, when we compromise our values and morals. Merriam Webster defines compromise as, “to make a shameful or disreputable concession.” With this in mind, we can therefore conclude, that when we compromise, we are giving in to that which we know and hold to be true.
Compromise not only weakens our testimony before the world, by giving those of the world the fodder they need to speak blasphemously against the way of the Lord, but it also helps to gain the foothold in our lives for evil works. When a child of God embraces compromise, they inevitably weaken their resolve, and make it easier to compromise a second time.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up."
These three men and their display of great courage continue to serve as the standard of behavior and devotion for Christians everywhere. They refused to compromise, to bow down to the king’s edict under enormous pressure to conform. Had they done so, they would have been denying God’s ability to deliver them.
We are in essence denying Him when we disregard His word, in favor of our own! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
Anytime we find ourselves fulfilling our own purpose rather than the Lord, we are denying Him. Whether we like to hear it or not, we must admit, that this is a behavior that we are quite often prone to.
And though this violation is often committed innocently enough, even without our realizing it, we can find ourselves plunging into a work, or attempting to fulfill our own desires, without even receiving consent from the Lord. Furthermore, intended or not, it's still in violation and a defiance to God.
Though, we somehow deceive ourselves believing that whatever we undertake has His fingerprints all over it. Beloved, this is a lie from Satan. One we often mistakenly fall prey to! Lest we be reminded, he is the father of lies!
John 8:44 says, "You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars."
While Scripture states that whatever we do, we should do it heartily as unto the Lord, the “whatever” therefore must be within the confines of God’s will. God’s will isn’t some arbitrary thing; rather, it is His most Sovereign desire. We must remember, while He will not always stand in direct opposition of us doing our own will, He is certainly under no obligation to sanction or promote that which He has not approved.
"To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. Titus 1:15-16
Are we not denying Him when our actions are not aligned with what we speak? We must always take great care not to speak above our actions. In other words, we need to refrain from speaking higher of ourselves than we should, and living lower than we ought.
Therefore do whatever they tell you,and observe it. But don’t do what they do,because they don’t practice what they teach They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders,but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. Matthew 3:23-24
The apostle Paul lays down an apt description of false teachers and those who turn from the truth, there is an unmistakable principle that can be applied to the child of God, and that is that it is quite possible to say one thing, but do another,denying the Lord in the process.
And, while not everything they said could be considered to be wrong, Jesus warns the people not to emulate the Pharisees because their conduct and lifestyle betrayed their words; all seemed well on the outside, but on the inside Jesus said they were like “dead men’s bones.”
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness." In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood. You, therefore, testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ sins!
Matthew 23:27-32
And not having finished His point, Jesus continues, in verses 33 through 39, telling them, "Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell? This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and hound from town to town. So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. I assure you: All these things will come on this generation!
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, ‘He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One’!"
In spite of all their lofty words, the Pharisees were really only interested in how they were perceived
by others; their lives were consistently denying the words the spoke. Through their behavior, it was not at all difficult to see. We should all take a page from the playbook of these hypocrites and at all costs, this obtrusive ungodly behavior.
When we refuse to recognize the roll the cross plays in our own lives, we fall into their same category. Here is a simple truth, in which we can be reminded. Denying the sanctification, refusing to put of the cross in its proper perspective. We then fail to recognize the victory of the cross, that Christ won. His victory, provides us the means to live our life in Christ, making us less prone to deny Him,
because we believe His victory, is also our victory!
"For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing."
Galatians 2:19-21
Here the apostle Paul states that he lives his life through faith in Christ, the One who died for Him.
And beloved, as we do the same, everything, in its proper perspective, becomes clearer.. And when we attempt to live in Christ, however, place our faith in every other thing, we are denying Christ.
In Closing....
In everything we do, we must never loose sight of this valuable lesson of Peter and the rooster. Peter remembered Jesus' Words, but only after he had sinned.
It is my prayer, that we would each of etch the words by the psalmist in Psalm 119:0-16, across our hearts.
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word. I have sought You with all my heart; don’t let me wander from Your commands. I have treasured Your word in my heart
so that I may not sin against You. Lord, may You be praised; teach me Your statutes. With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from Your mouth. I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees
as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
"Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me".
Luke 9:23
Beloved, they key here is, to deny ourselves, not Christ!
"Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed,and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly."
Matthew 26:74-75
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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