MARK 14:66-72
INSPIRING INTENTIONS
INCURRED INEFFECTIVENESS
I. INIMICAL:
A. Impulsiveness.
B. Inexplicable.
C. Impasse.
II. IMPEDIMENTS:
A. Immaturity.
B. Isolation.
C. Idle.
III. INDICATIVE:
A. Impertinence.
B. Impatience.
C. Improvements.
The last days of our Lord, in His human form, were rapidly coming to a close. For three years plus, the disciples had lived with the Master and together they had seen and experienced much. They rode a roller coaster with their hopes and dreams, regardless of how many times Christ tried to get them to see that He was not going to be the earthly Messiah whom they desired. They held out hope against hope that maybe, just maybe, He would relent and they would be able to see Him become the Savior of Israel. What they failed to realize was that He was the Savior of not only Israel, but of the whole world. However, their myopic vision would not allow them to fully grasp what was at stake.
Before the Romans came to fulfill the Scriptures, Jesus was giving the final words of encouragement and instructions to His followers when Peter spoke and said that he would never deny Jesus. However, the Master knew differently and told Peter that he would deny Him. This was hard for this impetuous man to accept and he clung to his statement that regardless of what happened, he was going to stick with Jesus. Then, when Jesus was finally arrested in the Garden and hauled away, things began to turn negatively towards the hope of the inevitable truth that Jesus was not going to do what they had been hoping He would do.
Once the arrest was made, things spiraled out of all control and the followers of Christ stood helpless as some of them fled. Then Peter did what he thought he would never do-deny Jesus. The results of this action burst upon Peter like a dam that had just found its weakest point in the retaining wall and burst through to flood all unclaimed territory below the water level. Peter was engulfed in a flood of remorseful emotions and he wept bitterly. One could never fault Peter for his intentions, but the reality of events proved to him that regardless of his Inspiring Intentions, he Incurred complete Ineffectiveness before his Lord.
I see three things in these verses as they relate to what Peter experienced on that lonely morning so long ago. The first thing I see is that his efforts, his vows, his intents were all INIMICAL to what he actually did. I then notice the IMPEDIMENTS of his personality and his person as he failed in the one hour when Jesus needed a friend. Lastly, I note that these motives and actions were INDICATIVE to this fisherman whom everyone loved. As I look at Peter in the light of my sermon, I cannot but help notice that maybe, just maybe, I might be entwined with Peter’s psyche in my walk with the Lord. Where he failed-I can fail and I often have. What bothered him sometimes bothers me and the implications of what these events meant for Peter mean the same for me. The good news is that Peter was restored and so can I be restored by the same loving Lord of both Peter and myself, regardless of the many failures we commit in following Jesus.
I. INIMICAL: Would it not be nice that what ever Peter desired, he would have accomplished? He desired to stand for Jesus but failed. His failure, though, has been repeated by millions of Christians down through the centuries and I have to include myself in this category. Oh, I like Peter, desire to do the best for my Lord, but like Peter my hopes and dreams are often marked by the sad fact that they are INIMICAL to me and my best wishes. So often hopes and dreams turn into bad failings like what happened to Peter.
The first part of my sermon has to do with Peter’s Impulsiveness. We have all heard about how he was so impulsive.. You would never catch him taking a back seat when there was a decision to be made about standing for Jesus. No sir, he was right up front and spoke with great gusto, that even if others would deny Him, Peter was the Rock and he was going to take his stand for his Master. It is good that there are people who are decisive in their lives. It seems like all people look askance upon those whom we would call, “Wishy-washy.” No sir, we like one who knows his/her mind and moves forthrightly to accomplish the stated goals one sets for oneself.
My missionary instructor in college, Prof. Rundell, would relate to we students a fact about the Amyra Indians in Peru where he served many years as a missionary. He related how he would preach his heart out to those stoic Indians and they would set so non-pulsed on the benches and pews and seldom respond to the call of the gospel in an open religious service. However, Prof. Rundell stated that often so many of these Indians would come to him in private and tell him when they were alone, that on a certain day they would return to the compound and give their heart to Jesus. Rejecting all calls for expediency, the Indians would leave the mission compound, walk on out into the rain forest and disappear. However, when the promised day arrived, that one would return and surrender his/her heart to Jesus and would never vary in his/her commitment from that day forward. The decision would be reached, the choice made and the heart was permanently changed from that day forward. That Indian, according to my professor, would never surrender his/her belief in Christ in spite of sometimes severe persecution from that one’s family and tribe. The choice was made and the results were lifelong. I have to admire someone like that.
This is exactly what Peter said he would do in his Impulsiveness. He was going to do something and stick with his word, yet he failed and failed miserably. His nature was wrapped up in himself and not in Jesus. This was due for a severe change before he could be of any use to Jesus in the future. His impulsive personality proved to be INIMICAL in the hour of need and he wept.
While we study Peter’s faults we have to remember that his actions are Inexplicable. They were unknown to him as are our faults unknown to us. Peter, the big man, the man of strength, a raw-bone fisherman that possessed a dominating personality who just demanded attention where ever he was, could not explain his failure-neither can we. However, his failure, although being Inexplicable to him were all the more INIMICAL to the cause of Christ.
Peter never sat out to deny his Lord. He never sat himself down and said that on a certain time he would buckle under pressure and deny his Master. No, he never thought he would surrender himself to the opposition when push gave way to shove; but he did buckle, he did fail and he could not answer the question, “Why?” Neither can we. None of us have ever thought that upon a certain day, a certain time, under certain circumstances, we would simply give away all that we held true about Jesus and go with the crowd-but we did, and we do not know why.
When Jesus turned and looked at Peter after he denied Him three times, Peter cried-he just did not know why he failed. If Peter could have just relived those moments before that last denial, he would square his shoulders, lift up his head, and proudly state that he was a part of the group who followed Jesus. But now, it was too late; he failed and he did not know why. His failure was Inexplicable to him and furthermore, his actions proved to be INIMICAL to Jesus.
What happened to Peter, as I stated earlier, happens to all of us-failure when we least expect it. If someone could have analyzed these actions of Peter, maybe just maybe, he would have been able to feel better about himself-no one was able to explain his actions to him and he never recovered from his mistakes, until after the Resurrection when Jesus appeared to him and welcomed him back into the fold.
What really happened to Peter that night/morning so long ago was that he reached an Impasse in his soul and that hurt him. He wanted so much to succeed, but failed so dramatically. There was something in his soul that blocked him from moving forward. Sometime later, Paul wrote in his Romans’ letter, that when he wanted to do good he did wrong, and he called out to the Holy Spirit for help in removing the Impasse in his heart. Peter reached that point before Paul did and he could identify with his fellow Christian about the need for a heart made whole by the love of the Lord. Peter reached his Impasse that night and could not move forward. It was not until days later when Peter became in-filled with the Holy Spirit that that roadblock was removed from his heart and he was able to serve Christ unwaveringly for the rest of his days.
Peter suffered greatly due to his Impulsiveness,
He also suffered greatly for the unexplained things of his heart when he encountered that Impasse which produced great INIMICAL results for him and for Jesus centuries ago. While we look at Peter and recognize his open failings, it is important to try and see the “Whys” of his failure.
II. IMPEDIMENTS: When ever one studies Peter, it is always necessary to study not only the man but the inner workings of this great Christian. He gave all he had to the Master and was outspoken to say the least in his support of Jesus, except at the most crucial time of his life. But, why did he crumble at this moment of time? What was there about him that caved into outside pressure at the Trial of Jesus? We may never fully understand Peter because we do not fully understand ourselves and how we react negatively when we should be forthright in our defense of the gospel.
All we can claim to know is that there were in Peter as there is in all of us, IMPEDIMENTS to fulfilling our walk with Christ. These negatives surface when we think they are gone. These failings, these down sittings of ours, haunt us as we try our best to follow Jesus and to be the best we can be for Him. But, what are these hidden entities with us, which were in Peter, that brought him down to deny Christ and to shed oh so bitter tears?
One of these IMPEDIMENTS can be categorized as spiritual Immaturity. How often do we look at the saints who make up our Christian friends and think, “If I could only be like that one?” It seems, for the most part that everyone else is stronger in the faith than we. We know our faults, our weak spots and we go to great lengths to hide them from our church family and our Christians friends, thinking that we are the only ones who make the stupid spiritual mistakes of not being bold enough for Jesus when He needs us. We often hang our head in shame when we think of the stupid mistakes we made in our walk with Christ, all the time thinking we are the only ones who are in need of spiritual graces to help us to mature in Christ. Little do we realize that we are not alone.
In reality, those saints to whom we hold in high esteem, failed-fail-just like we have done and do. Oh, maybe not in the same arena of faith, but they have failed. Why? The answer lies in the hindrance called spiritual Immaturity. Being a Christian is a maturing process. This was something Peter had to find out the hard way. His heart was in the right place, but his spiritual walk with Jesus was an ongoing process and he made the mistake in thinking he had matured to the point where he would never fail his Lord. His denial was part of his Immaturity. All of us suffer from this malady. Serving Jesus is a day by day approach to living the separated life for Him. Every saint of God has slipped sometime in his/her walk with Jesus. We are never reaching the matured state of grace-we on the road to that place. Paul said years later, “I press towards the mark of the high calling.” A “high calling” it is.
Part of the IMPEDIMENT of Peter was that he thought he was more “grown-up” in his relationship with Jesus than he was and he failed. Spiritual Immaturity is part of the process of growing in grace. The longer we walk with the Lord, the more mature we should be. The writer to the Hebrews warned his readers that they should go on to solid food, grow-up, become mature, and take one’s stand for the gospel.
If we could have fast forwarded the time clock of this trial into the years ahead, we would see a mature Peter stand and face his executioners and tell them to crucify him upside down, because he felt that he was not worthy of dying in the same manner as Jesus died. That, my friend, is spiritual growth on a massive scale. The night Peter denied his Lord, was not intentional, he just needed more time to mature.
What were some of the other IMPEDIMENTS which Peter suffered that night? One of them can certainly be said to be: Isolation. Peter was alone. If there is one trick of Satan that he seems to use so much on we Christians is the fact/feeling of being all alone. Peter was alone, separated from Jesus and when asked by the little maid, he denied his Lord. He probably would not have done this dastardly offense if he would have been surrounded by the rest of the Disciples. He no doubt would not have denied his Master, if he was standing next to Jesus, but now he was alone, Isolated, and he denied Jesus.
It takes a strong Christian to stand alone for Jesus. The herd instinct in all of us is real and sometimes deadly. It is a real blessing to be able to identify ourselves with the masses of likeminded believers, but it is another thing when we are alone on the job, and the herd of Satan’s imps join forces against us. The need for survival can take a decidedly nasty turn and sometimes, when alone, we fail to stand for Jesus. This was part of the problem with Peter-he was alone, Isolated, and when the pressure was too much, he failed.
Some so called Christians pooh-pooh the need for attending church. Their self aggrandizing philosophy is that, “I can worship God where ever I am and I do not need a church.” We have all heard their hypocritical stories as they try to vaunt themselves above the very institution Christ gave His blood to build. They are only fooling themselves. There is something in numbers, especially in Christian numbers that help strengthen the Christian walk with God. We need each other. If we shy away from our fellow Christians and His church, we are opening ourselves to the onslaught of Satan because we will be alone-a perfect candidate to fail when we need to stand firm for our Lord.
The last thing I note in regards to Peter’s IMPEDIMENTS was that he was Idle. It is true that there was not a whole lot for him to do at this trial but to wait and show his support for Jesus, yet he was not even doing that. One cannot work all the time; the body is not meant to endure that type of existence. All of us need some good “R and R.” Jesus, himself, recognized that when he told His disciples to “come apart and rest for awhile.” On the other hand, it is good to be as active for the Master as we can be.
God has not called all to the ministry of preaching, pastoring, teaching, etc. but all of us are called to be busy for Jesus. Regardless of our make-up, there is something to do for Christ. When God called Moses to go lead His Children out of Egypt and Moses demurred, God ask him what he had in his hand, and Moses said he held a staff. God told him to cast it down which he did and you know the rest of the story. God does not want extremes from us, He wants what is in our hands to do what ever we can do for the Master. This was one area where Peter failed. He could have sat as close to the Master and supported Him in any way he could have, but he back away, alone and not yet mature, spiritually speaking, and he became Idle; he did not work at the job that he was given at that hour. No, we cannot be on the go for Jesus or for anything or anyone else all the time, but when we are given a task to do for Jesus, regardless of how small or how large it might be, we must do it and not become Idle in our walk with the Lord.
These are just three IMPEDIMENTS of which Peter suffered. It is no wonder he cried-we should cry also over our hindrances.
III. INDICATIVE: As I come to my third and last point in my sermon, I have to ask myself what does all of this mean? What did Peter’s tears mean when he cried bitterly? Are there any lessons from which we may deduce to make us a better person for Christ? Are these things he suffered and endured INDICATIVE of anything? The Answer is, “Yes.” These tears, these down settings of Peter are sure signs of something that all of us need to know.
What Peter endured that night so long ago indicated to him his problem of Impertinence, of being someone he did not like. Peter, the Rock, the leader, the bold one, found out something about himself that night that changed him. Whereas before, he was the type of a man that could ride high, let the chips fall where they may, put me first, I am the leader, etc, he found out that these aspects of his personality were really hurtful to himself and to his Lord. He was a very impertinent type of a fellow that needed some major overhauling in his life. We all need this re-tooling now and then as we grow in grace.
Peter saw his reflection of himself in the eyes of Jesus when He turned and looked at him. He did not like what he saw and he cried. It was a humiliating event for Peter, but it was one that forever changed him. Then, a few days later when he encountered Jesus on the seashore after fishing all night, he found forgiveness and acceptance from his Lord. He was forever changed.
Another thing that made him see himself was his need for more patience. His fall that night/morning was a true indication that he was very Impatience. If he was ever going to be a good use to the Master, he needed the virtue of patience and that night he must have realized just how much patience he lacked. Little did he know what lay ahead of him as he assumed the leadership of the Early Church and his great need for patience with new believers, new churches and new problems. Years later, he set his pen to papyrus and extolled the need for patience as he claimed, rightfully, that patience will lead to godliness. He knew of what he was writing.
Finally, I note the experience of Peter that night was an indication that he needed Improvements to be made to his life. And, Peter did improve. When he crashed for the reasons I have listed, he had no where else to go but to go “up.” He would have been worthless to the cause of Christ if he did not stop and take inventory of what had happened and how he could improve. He was a smart man. If every Christian could learn the lesson that Peter learned that night and the days following, the cause of Christ would be an even greater force than what it is today.
As I stated earlier, we all have fallen short of the goal we set before us in our living for Jesus. But to lie down and give up once that mistake was made is a sure cause of turning away from Jesus. But, to the one who has failed, it is imperative to remember Peter. He did not stay down, but he got up, dusted the dust off of his clothes, admitted his need for more of Christ and he became who he was-a dynamo for Jesus.
Yes, he cried bitter tears for various reasons but those tears watered the fertile ground for the need to improve and improve he did. If he can do this-so can we. You may not be called upon to head the entire Church of Jesus as he was called on to do. But, whatever place God has destined you to fill, if you fail, get up, ask for His forgiveness, brush yourself off, chalk the mistake up to immaturity, stop wallowing in self-pitting, and go forth to do God’s bidding and you will be one of those saints that younger Christians will look at and envy and all the time not knowing your battles and how you overcame them as you matured in His graces.
