"Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and *said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away." Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so grateful that you could be here with us today. As I had mentioned before, we are extremely blessed to be able to partner with Vanessa Taylor at Go Ye Kids children's ministry in providing printable biblical resources for children, many of them free. Please be sure to thank her and let her know that you heard about her here. God has been doing great things in our overseas ministry, I am amazed that so many are coming to saving faith in Christ, even in many of the worlds most persecuted countries. They assure me that our prayers for them are a precious gift, one they don't take for granted. For many, it's the first time, they truly understand how the Lord calls them to live. Let's be sure to pause today and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and rejoice with them, no matter where they may be. If God is using this ministry to impact your life, please write and let us know, we'd love to hear from you. To God be the glory!
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so grateful that you could be here with us today. As I had mentioned before, we are extremely blessed to be able to partner with Vanessa Taylor at Go Ye Kids children's ministry in providing printable biblical resources for children, many of them free. Please be sure to thank her and let her know that you heard about her here. God has been doing great things in our overseas ministry, I am amazed that so many are coming to saving faith in Christ, even in many of the worlds most persecuted countries. They assure me that our prayers for them are a precious gift, one they don't take for granted. For many, it's the first time, they truly understand how the Lord calls them to live. Let's be sure to pause today and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and rejoice with them, no matter where they may be. If God is using this ministry to impact your life, please write and let us know, we'd love to hear from you. To God be the glory!
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word for us today. We praise You, the God of amazing grace, that while we were yet sinners, You would send Christ to die for us. Lord, we are greatly indebted to You. We give You thanks and praise for our new brothers and sisters in Christ, we ask that You would with them on their new journey of faith in Christ, as they navigate through the challenges and persecution. Lord, grant them the boldness and courage to proclaim Christ, even unto to those who seek to silence their witness. May we who have place our trust in Christ, respond as You have commanded us, confessing our sin, and turn away in true repentance. Father, we pray that You would work in their hearts, bringing healing and joy into the hearts of all Your people. Lord, we pray that You would continue to build up this ministry, to reach more and more people for Your glory.
In Jesus' name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Restoring Stumbling Saints
In life, it is certain that we all have and will continue to make mistakes. As people who stumble often and in many ways, we need God's Word to give us warning and to give us hope. When we truly have an encounter with God, our character will change. One of the character changes is a willingness to obey God's Word, not out of duty but from a place of love and gratitude for all that He done for us. It was nearly 30 years after I first accepted Jesus into my life, before I finally read through the entire Bible. I was absolutely amazed how much of what I read contradicted everything that I had been taught in church.
When I read what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." The implications became very clear, it's not our profession of faith or how much we claim to love Christ that will allow us to enter heaven, but our obedience to His will. When Christ is first and foremost in our lives, He will on display, not us, that's when we will be most joyful and we will realize that we must recede in the background.
Earlier in Matthew 26, Jesus warned Peter, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Many Christians today attempt to silence the warning of the rooster in their lives, by chasing the rooster around with an ax! The rooster of selfishness, or self-righteousness, of self and pride, fear of rejection for standing for Christ? What rooster are you trying to silence in your life? What will you do when the heat is on, and persecution is present, will deny Jesus by keeping silent about God's Word to avoid conflict? Or worse, will you deny your association with Him all together, in self-preservation like Peter, to save your own life? Without the forgiveness of sins, there would be no hope of having a relationship with God.
Micah 7:18 says, "Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love."
Praise God that He is the God of all grace, and the God of the second chances, and the finished work of Jesus Christ, Who loving restores the stumbling saints!
Open your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter twenty-six. Matthew 26:69-75. I
invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our
minds, as we look at today's text through the eyes of Matthew, inspired
by the Holy Spirit. So, let's open our hearts and our minds
to see what the Spirit of God has
to say us today. Matthew 26:69-75.
"Now
Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to
him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and *said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away." Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly."
If you recall, in verse 35, Peter's bold and courageous proclamation, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You." How quickly things change in a moment! I believe that Peter learned a hard lesson about just how fragile one's faith, loosely based on an emotional feeling, actually is. I have to say, it takes a tremendous amount of ego to confront Jesus and say, "No! You're wrong!"
Which explains why he later wrote in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
God’s people must be prepared to hold fast to the Word of God, in the face of temptation. Remember, after Jesus' baptism, and Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus faced His battle by quoting from the book of Deuteronomy. Satan then manipulated God's Word to say something Jesus knew it clearly didn't say. Over two thousand years later, Satan's tactics haven't changed! Peter heard the rooster crowing, however, like many of us, Peter couldn’t imagine any circumstance that would ever cause him to deny Jesus, so
he didn't heed the warning to pray for protection against temptation. It was his indifference that led to his fall. A perfect example of those who have ears, but hear not. Let me tell you something, over confident Christians today, still don’t pray as they ought, because they "feel" invincible, they don’t need to. Listen, I've been a Christian for over 46 years and I know I need to pray everyday! In fact, more now than ever in the world in which we live.
Let's look at verse 69, "Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean."
Remember, last time we read in John 18:15-16, "Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in." That other disciple is believed to John, as Peter and John, were generally together because of the fishing trade. Also, John frequently speaks of himself, without mentioning his name. We do know that John was present with Mary at the cross at the time of Christ's crucifixion. And John is likely have been known to the high priest, as an acquaintance, by selling fish to his household, which would have given him entrance into the high priest’s house.The text says nothing about John after he went in. Apparently, Peter didn't have access to courtyard, so he was left outside. John went back outside, and got Peter in, we know nothing about how he got him in. Peter's now in the most dangerous place he could be. Though Jesus already predicted Peter would deny Him, it's probably not where Jesus wanted him, he ignore Jesus' warning. Knowing Peter and his love for Christ, he was compelled to see the outcome.
So, Peter's outside in the courtyard, and Matthew writes "and a servant-girl came to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." Calling Jesus a Nazarene or Galilean was a term of derision, it was meant as an insult, it was a mockery of Him. Remember in John 1:45-46, when Jesus was recruiting Philip, he went and found Nathanael and he said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Many Jews looked down on the people from Nazareth and Galilee.
Christ's prediction about Peter's denial is now beginning to unfold. Verse 70, "But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." Mark tells us she was one of the servants of the high priest. John says she was the girl who kept the door. By now, it's around 1:00 AM, Peter's sitting around the fire, with the crowd, so he isn't recognized, warming himself. And Peter denies Him, "he denied it before them all," not just to this servant girl, but in front of everybody. So, there may have been a conversation back and forth with the others in the crowd. We can't be dogmatic about that. Keep in mind, Jesus said Peter would deny Him three times, so this is the first. But all three denials took place in the same courtyard of the same house.
This is shocking, Peter of all people. He had been following Jesus for over 3 years, he has witnessed His healing miracles, healing the lepers, giving sight to the blind, making the lame to walk, raising the dead, not to mention he saw Jesus walk on water and he was the leader of the twelve, now he's denying Him? This is the very same Peter who had just said he'd die or go to prison for Jesus! We can't be sure what's going through Peter's mind, but he wasn't prepared for the unexpected. Jesus even warned him that Satan's going to shake him up!
Listen, we may be able to anticipate certain situations that will arise in life, so we sort of prepare for them, but our over confidence can become our downfall, when something happens that we don’t expect, it catches us off guard. What a profound lesson about prayer and spiritual unpreparedness. If this can happen to Peter of all people, it can happen to anyone. James 1:8 says, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." In 1 Corinthians 10:12, Paul says, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." Our true character isn’t exposed by what we prepare to do, it's what we do when we're unprepared, caught off guard. That's what reveals who we really are. Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. "If you were to ask Peter about his denial today, he'd probably say, "It’s complicated." Some people just speak without any knowledge of what we’re talking about. When we aren't conscientiously paying attention to what we say, we may pay a high price for our choice of words. Peter's words were anything but stable, because of his unwillingness to listen to the Lord and pray.
Verse 71, "When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and *said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."
Luke 22 tells us "A little later, another saw him and said, "You are one of them too!" So, Peter didn't leave right away, he went out to the gateway and hung around for a while, Mark 14 says "he went out onto the porch," where the moonlight won’t be as bright, and he's less likely to be recognized. He’s probably slowly heading for the exit. Mark tells us that when "The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, "This is one of them!" Matthew tells us this is another servant-girl, not the same one. He just can’t seem to get away from being recognized, everything is going according to schedule.
Matthew says in verse 72, "And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man."
He denied it with an oath, a formal declaration of the truth. It's like when you're in court and raise your right hand and swear before God to tell the truth, calling on Him as a witness to your testimony.
Peter's full of emotion, he's frustrated, angry and scared, his denials are becoming more passionate. He's digging himself deeper. He didn't just lie, he compounded it because he made an oath. That's a dangerous position to be in, to call upon God as a witness to your truthfulness, then lie! As a child of God he's violating his commitment to the Lord. Peter knew God's Word, he knew Christ, he had the spiritual privilege of walking with Him for over 3 years.
This just goes to show you, nobody is invincible. It doesn't matter who you are, given the right set of circumstances, we're all vulnerable. It doesn't matter who you are or what you think you know. You better be prepared, get on your knees, humble yourself before the Lord and seek His strength, because sooner or later, you're going to realize you don’t have it. We need to pray with and for our brothers and sisters and help strengthen them. Jesus prayed specifically for Peter, that his faith would not fail.We need to do the same.
Verse 73, "A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away."
Luke 22 says, "After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, "Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too." Notice Luke says "another man," Matthew records "the bystanders." There must have been a group of men standing around accusing him of being associated with Christ. So, another hour goes by and here comes his third denial. According to the next verse the accusation kept flying, making him angry. How could this possibly the same Peter the petros, the small stone who's courage and determination Jesus would rely upon on for the future establishment of the church?
Verse 74, "Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. The Greek word for curse is "katathematizó," to curse vehemently, meaning in a strong and emotional way. It basically means that Peter was saying "May God strike me dead and damn me if I’m not telling the truth." It's bad enough that Peter would deny Jesus but to take the Lord’s name in vain, while doing it, that's just unimaginable! He's really hit rock bottom.
Luke 22:60b-61, says "Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times." The Lord turned and looked at Peter, Scripture doesn't tell us what kind of a look it was, but Peter must have been able to see Him from where he was standing, watching Jesus being beaten and spit on. His face was probably battered by this point. There are some who have suggested it was a look of disgust, a look of great disappointment, but I believe it was a look of love, to say "Even though you would deny Me, I would not deny you." We can't be dogmatic about that though. I can't help but to imagine how Jesus must have felt, being rejected by the world, betrayed by Judas, one of the twelve and now denied by Peter with cursing and swearing, the leader of the disciples. I can't begin to imagine what must've have been going through Peter's when Jesus looked at him. He must've been disgusted with himself. Whatever the look Jesus gave him was, it must have pierced his soul.
That brings us to verse 75, "And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly." It's the word "pikrós," meaning he wept hard with strong emotion, he was in agony. The Lord told him this would happen, in his self confidence, thinking he could handle anything, he denied even the possibility of it. By acting on his own strength, he sat with those who were ridiculing Jesus and he fell into temptation.
In Closing..
The Good News is, we know this was not the end of Peter's story, he blow his chance of ever serving the Lord. Jesus restored him. I believe the take away here is, when you find yourself in a vulnerable situation, you need to draw closer to Christ, in prayer, not sitting on the side lines with sinners in some compromising place that can only lead to defeat.
Remember in Daniel chapter 10, when the angel was sent to Daniel, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. No matter how strong we think we are, the truth is, we're no match for Satan. Peter went out and wept bitterly, but the Lord Jesus Christ came back and restored him. The real Peter is seen not in his denial, but in his repentance. Judas felt remorse, he didn't repent, he went and hanged himself. Peter on the other hand, repented and went on to live a courageous life thereafter. You can too! When we sin, we can either repent and be restored or feel remorse and be damned. That's the message.
May it be so..
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
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved
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
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved