Sermon Central
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Go Tell Peter
Contributed by Gregory Lilly on Dec 31, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: Sometimes the Lord has a special message just for you. In this message, although Peter went through a difficult time during the trial of Jesus, yet Jesus wanted him to know, I love you!
*Peter had denied the Lord Jesus Christ, not once, but three times.
*Peter had fled to a secluded place where he did not just cry a few tears, but wept bitterly, sick at heart for what he had done.
*Peter no doubt felt that he had let Jesus down, and maybe he even felt that he was no longer fit for service, but Jesus was about to change all of that.
*Sending the women from the tomb to share a message with the disciples and especially Peter, we will see that the Lord through the words of the angel wanted Peter to know something wonderful.
*Sometimes, just like Peter, we feel that we have let the Lord down and that we are no longer fit for His service, but just as He will do with Peter God has a message for you.
*What is that message?
1. He wants you to know that you are not forsaken.
You may be guilty of letting the Lord down or even of outright denying His name, but He wants you to know that He has not forsaken you and He wants you to serve Him. (Think about Jonah. He became the prophet of the second chance).
What we need to learn from time to time is that we seem to learn more from our faults and failures than from our successes. Sometimes, the best teacher is a broken heart, a hurting conscience or even a bruised ego.
2. He wants you to know that you are forgiven.
Remember, Jesus is the Messiah, the One Who came to free people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). He wants you to know that He has the authority to forgive, and although you don't deserve His pardon, you have it. (I John 1:9).
Further, we need to start taking responsibility for our sins before the Lord. Remember in the Garden of Eden, when God addressed the sin of Adam, what did he do? You know-he blamed Eve. What did Eve do? You know-she blamed the serpent. We need to stop blaming our sin on other people, circumstances or the times, and confess those sins before God (Genesis 3). Remember, David sinned and when his sin was exposed and he came to take responsibility before the prophet Nathan, his service to the Lord was greater (II Samuel 12).
3. He wants you to know that your future in serving Him is bright.
God needed someone to deliver His message, to stand in the gap, and there was a man, Isaiah, who was willing to go and God purified his mouth and heart and sent him to share the message with the people, a message of both woe or warning and blessing (Isaiah 6).
Have you let God down? Don't worry about it, your future of service is brighter than you may think. God wants to use you, to work through you, to commission you to tell the world that there is salvation in the name of Jesus.
Yes, Peter was at the lowest ebb of his life, but Jesus wanted him to know that he was not forsaken, but forgiven, and that he had a future of service ahead. As we all know, Peter did serve the Lord until his dying day. Are you like Peter? Are you at a low time in your life? Remember this message and if you are willing to heed it, you too can come to know that failure is not the end, but maybe it is just the beginning of a wonderful time of both worship and service to Christ. What will you now do?
