“How will you be remembered?”
Peter and his 3 paths…
Over the past two weeks I have been spending a lot of time watching the news about the Pope’s death. Any time a public figure passes away like the Pope or Mother Teresa, Princess Di you can always expect that there are going to be countless tributes to their life. These last two weeks news people from all over the world have been churning out short documentaries on the Pope’s life. How he was elected. What major influences he had during his time. What good and bad things were accomplished because of his work. I was really amazed at the millions of people that stood in line for hours on end to take one last look at the Pope before his funeral. Millions around the world have paid their respects to his life.
Watching all of this on TV, the media craze, the huge love and support shown from millions of people, the short documentaries that look back and remember one man’s life really got me thinking.
How will people remember me? Another way to ask this is if you were to die today, what would people remember you for? Think of your life. We don’t think about it but the truth is that how we treat people now, what we say, how we think, what we believe, decisions we have made will all reflect peoples opinions of us now and after the Lord says its time to go home. Of course millions die everyday and only a handful will be remembered on the same level as a JFK, or President Reagan, or the Pope, but each of us when we pass on from this life will be remembered for something. People will look back on our lives and reflect on how we lived our one chance on this earth. How we treated people, what we believed, how we acted, how we spoke. So, if you were to die today how would you be remembered?
Would people say you were someone that was great at your job, worked hard and made tons of money? Would they say you were a nice person always trying to find ways to help out your neighbor? That you were a loving caring husband, father, mother, or wife. If we are totally honest with ourselves, which is very hard to do, some of us might have to admit that if we died today we wouldn’t leave a very positive memory behind. Maybe we were selfish, never told our children or spouse that we loved them, worked to many hours, maybe we will be remembered as the type of person that held grudges to easily or that always wanted to gossip about other people. Or for me personally, the worse memory I could leave behind would be the one of a spiritual actor. Someone that is remembered for playing the role on Sunday and being who they really are the other six days.
I don’t believe anyone in here would consciously say they want to leave this earth, their one chance here, with a bad reputation. Or that they would want people to remember them only for how selfish, troublemaking, rude, or fake they were. I believe that everyone in here wants to be remembered for something special.
I know that when I pass on the one thing I want people to remember me for more than anything else is my unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ. If we are believers in Christ that should be our desire. If someone comes to you and says what do you want to be remembered for that should be it. Our unwavering devotion to our Lord and Savior.
I don’t want to be remembered for being one of the greatest sports figures in the world, or a great writer, or a doctor that saved millions of people. Those are all great and awesome things that should be recognized but it is our relationship with our lord that should supersedes all of those things.
A couple of weeks ago I went to my grandfather’s funeral. He was the last of my grandpa’s so if anyone today wants to adopt me I am taking applications. You know my grandfather was an incredible man. He was a military man. He served directly under General Patton in WWII. But you know not one of his countless amazing stories were shared during his funeral. What was shared for 30 minutes was the story of a man that led a simple life. That loved his 4 children and his wife of 57 years with everything in him and his unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ. To me that was incredible. He did so many great things in his life but it was his relationship with the Lord that was remembered over everything else.
So really what I’m getting at today is not how will be remembered as a person in this world. Forget about how people will remember you in a worldly sense. Job, money, accomplishments whatever. What I want to look at today is how will you be remembered in a spiritual sense? What will people say about your relationship with Christ? Do people even know you have a relationship with Christ?
During our life long journey’s as believers we are given difficulties, challenges a roller coaster of emotional experiences that will be used to help us depend on the Lord for our strength and to ultimately help us grow closer to Him. And its how we react to these situations that will determine where we will be or how we will grow in our walks and how we will be remembered as Christians.
If I break it down for you I think there are three types or three paths you can take in your walk. Depending on which path you take will ultimately decide how people will remember you in that spiritual sense I mentioned earlier.
The great thing about these paths is that you are not stuck in one path, as you grow and mature you can take a new path that will eventually lead you to where God has desired for you to be all along.
The apostles Peter is a man that is remembered for being the leader of Christ chosen disciples. He is remembered for being an incredible man of God. A man that, with the help of the holy spirit, did many of the same types of healings and miracles that Christ did. A man that led thousands to know Christ through his bold spirit and unapologetic preaching.
His memory has left such a powerful impact that I and probably hundreds or even thousands of preachers will mention Him today in their sermons. As awesome a man of God as Peter was we always seem to forget that it took a long time for him to get to where we remember him today. Peter took paths during difficult times that if he would have stopped after taking a particular path or making a particular choice we would have remembered him for something totally different.
I want to look at three instances in Peter’s life. His denial in Matthew 26, his dedication in John 21 and his decision in Acts 2. These paths eventually led to where God wanted him to be as a man of God. But like I said if Peter would have quit after anyone of these incidents we would have remembered him for something totally different if we would have even remembered him at all.
Let’s first look at…
I. Peter’s Denial- Matthew 26: 69-75
Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. 70But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. 71Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” 73After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.” 74Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. 75Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
The first path Peter chooses is a path of denial. Peter sees the beating that Jesus is having to go through. He sees the crowd in an uproar screaming for a cruxifixion and Peter gets scared. He doesn’t want people to know he has been by Jesus’ side for the last three years. He might be thinking, “What if they find out? Will they kill me too?” Peter’s denial of Christ is a pretty serious event. It’s a serious path he had chosen.
Remember that during Christ ministry Peter was always the first to speak up. When Christ walked on water in Matthew 14 Peter was the disciple that was brave enough to step out of the boat. When Christ asked his disciples in Matthew 16:13, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Peter is the first disciple to speak up to claim Christ as the Son of the living God. When Christ washed his disciples feet in John 13 Peter was the first disciple to again speak up and refuse to let Christ wash his feet. Peter was bold all the way up to the arrest of Jesus where in John 18 when Christ gets arrested it is Peter that draws his sword to defend Christ and he cuts the ear off one of the soldiers. Peter was bold for the Lord over and over again. He made bold statements to Christ that he would gladly die for him, yet when it finally came to making that choice Peter denied him. Peter did what he thought he had to do to save his own life. A harsh reality hits him here. He realizes how weak of a follower he really was. He was all fluff and no substance.
What if Peter, after denying Christ, would have just gone home. What if he would have decided to stay on the path he had chosen and not follow Christ anymore. He could have said, “Well, I am not the disciple I was and Jesus wasn’t the man I thought so I guess I’ll go home and try to salvage a life for myself.”
Thousands of people might not have been saved. People would not have been healed. His life would not have been written in scriptures as an example of a great man of God. Instead he might have been briefly mentioned as the man who made bold claims but quit when it really mattered.
You know, some of us, are like Peter at this time of his life. In fact I believe all of us in here will fit into one of these situations or are on one of these paths that Peter was on. We deny Christ all the time without knowing it. Its easy for us to make claims that we are Christians to anyone but living out that life or to boldly stand firm for the lord when we are challenged is the real test to show how serious we are. So many people say they are Christians but only come to church on holidays. Or maybe they come to church all the time but at work no one has any idea they are a believer or that they go to church. The ones on this path are the ones that only call on God or believe in God when it makes them look good, or when good things are happening. Once trouble begins they are the first ones to deny they even knew him.
If you were to die today and you were on this path how would people remember you? They might say so and so was a person that only followed God when it was convient for them. When life was going great.
Peter realized his actions. He remembered the words that Christ had spoken to him at the Last Supper when Peter made the bold statement, “I will go to prison and even die for you.” Christ said you will deny me three times before morning, or before the rooster crows. Peter hears the crowing of the rooster and he breaks down. I am sure he cried and asked for forgiveness for a long time.
A second path Peter chooses happens very soon after his denial.
II. Peter’s Dedication- John 20:19-22
19That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he said. 20As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord! 21He spoke to them again and said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22Then he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven."
Peter did not go home and give up on everything he had followed and believed for the past 3 years. He went back to the disciples. This is where they are gathered in the upper room. Christ appears to them for the first time so that all of them would know that Christ is the true and risen savior.
Peter is with the people he had grown to love over such a short period of time. This is a sad time for them. For three years these men and women had given up their lives in order to follow Jesus from town to town. They were questioned, mocked, ridiculed, witnessed amazing miracles, and heard teaching about love, obedience, respect that they had never heard before. It was a great time while Christ was alive.
Now this same group is at a loss. Christ is dead. Where do they go? Who do they turn to? Would he really rise from the dead like he said he would? Why couldn’t he? He raised Lazarus from the dead. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. He cast out demons and walked on water. But could he really bring himself back to life?
This would be a tough test of dedication. You have two choices, quit and go home which Peter could have done after his denial. Or stay dedicated to the work that’s been done and hope for the best. I don’t know what the thoughts were of the apostles at this time. But what I do know and what I see when I read this scripture is that the apostles were dedicated to God, and to each other, just not as much as we think they would be.
Peter has just overcome his denial of Christ. He above everyone else after seeing Christ risen should have been on fire. Look at John 20:1-4, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
This is the first time Peter is not first to something. He is so quick in his life to be first. First to speak up, first to get out of the boat, first to deny. Now Christ has risen and he is the 2nd disciple to reach the empty tomb. Maybe Peter was over weight and out of shape. Maybe they were cautious and thought Jesus’ body was stolen so there was no hurry. There must be a reason why John would put that Peter is 2nd, or that another disciple out ran Peter to the tomb. I personally think it shows Peter was dedicated to God but not like he should have been or could have been. He believed in Christ, but denied him. Peter dedicated himself to continue the work by being with the apostles, but wasn’t to over excited to get to the tomb.
I can’t just pick on Peter here either. All of the disciples showed they were dedicated but they weren’t fully committed. They had not yet learned what it meant to deny themselves and carry their cross and follow God. After everyone sees that the tomb is empty, what happens? Does everyone go yelling up and down the streets, “HE IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN!!!” No, we know the disciples believed Christ was risen because it says in verse 8, “ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.” Instead after they saw that Christ had risen and scripture says they believed it says in verse 10, “Then the disciples went back to their homes.”
Your kidding me right! You spend the last three years following a man you knew nothing about only to witness countless miracles, get incredible teaching, and go through an incredible roller coaster of emotions only to learn in the end after its all over that he truly was who he said he was and you go home. Man I would be in the streets screaming. I would be telling everyone that I knew I wasn’t nuts for following him. I would be going up to the Pharisees and Saducees doing my I told you so dance, saying in your face brother, how you like me now!
I couldn’t contain myself, yet they see the empty tomb, believe and go home. Then it doesn’t end there. Peter who should be making up for his whole denying incident decides that its more important to go fishing instead of sharing that Christ is risen. He believes, he is dedicated. Just not like he should be. Peter was still scared. The disciples were still scared. When Christ appeard to them in the upper room It says they were there hiding from the Jews. They walked with God for 3 years but were still scared about what man would do to them. They were afraid to boldly tell others they were followers of Christ.
Finally at the end of chapter 21 we see Christ ask Peter 3 times, “Do you love me.” This is a whole sermon in itself, but Christ is asking Peter if he has an unconditional, an agape love for him. Peter says, “Yes lord you know that I phileo you.” I have a love for you like two best friends, a brotherly love. Peter was dedicated but not unconditionally. He wasn’t preaching in the streets, he wasn’t laying his life on the line for Christ, he was just an ordinary believer.
At this time in Peter’s life is where I believe most Christians are right now. We are dedicated to the church. We serve in various areas. We might be on the board, on 13 different committees, we never miss a Sunday service. People look up to us as leaders of the church, but there is one thing missing. We still have not fully given our life over to Christ. Instead of running up and down the streets proclaiming the gospel of Christ to everyone, we listen to a Sunday sermon and then go home, or go to lunch. There is no excitement in us. There is no joy. If you truly have the Lord in your life, you will understand what it means to have true joy.
We believe in Christ, but we are still afraid what people will think of us if they know we believe in Christ. God tells us to witness to our friends and coworkers and we don’t because we are always saying, “Well I don’t know what to say.” We worry more about the petty things in the church over the lost outside these walls that are going to hell everyday.
We are dedicated, just not like we should be. Are you walking that path right now. Are there issues in your life that are keeping you from experiencing what it means to have true joy. Are there grudges you are holding. If there is something like that in your life you need to release it to the Lord. It will hold you back from ever having a true growing relationship.
If you died today on this path how would people remember you. They might remember you as being a great volunteer, always trustworthy, always ready to help, but never did anything great that challenged you to get uncomfortable that would require you to put your total faith in Christ.
Peter doesn’t stay on this path very long. In the end through all of his struggles, God gets a hold of him for eternity and puts him on the right path. In Acts 2 we see the final path chosen today and that is…
III. Peter’s Decision- Acts 2:1-13
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them. 5Now there were staying in Jerusalem Godfearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism Cretans and Arabs–we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.[b]”
This is the event that changed the disciples lives forever. This is where they moved from a believer to a true follower. In front of the very people they were afraid of God moved in these men’s lives. He gave them ability to preach the gospel. To have the boldness they needed in order to fulfill God’s great commission. From this point forward is where their life turned from being afraid, doubting, hiding to being in the middle of the crowd. Preaching to the lost, not being afraid to lose their lives. Not being afraid to step out of their comfort zone. These men were able to do it because they wanted to be different.
This is where we need to be. This is the path that God desires for us. God doesn’t desire for us to walk the path of denial, or to walk the path of half hearted dedication. God wants us to make a decision. The decision to either follow him with everything in you, or not at all. There is no gray area. When we make that choice we will learn what true joy is. We will learn how to trust God to do things we never thought we were able to do. We will learn to learn what it means love our Christian brothers and sisters. We will be able to let go of grudges and sins that have plagued us for years.
But you have to make that choice. God can’t make it for you. I promise when you do. When you fall to your knees and finally give your total life over to the Lord you never look back. And you will be able to be a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
The fellowship of the unashamed is a small group of people who have learned what it means to be willing to give up everything for the Lord. They are not ashamed of the gospel for any reason. It is first in their life in everything they do. Until we finally walk that path we will never be were God truly wants us. Oh you can be saved. You can go to heaven and walk the path of half hearted dedication, but is that what you want to be remembered for. Or would you rather be where Dr. Bob Moorehead was when he wrote these words…
I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my God reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity. Negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.
This is how we should be remembered. A person that gave everything they had for Christ without compromise.
