When God Calls Your Name… Twice: Simon Peter
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 8/28/2016
For the last several of weeks, we’ve been talking about how you might respond if God called your name—not just once, but twice. As I mentioned before, God calls plenty of people in the Bible often by name, but I’ve only found seven times where God calls out someone’s name twice in a row—Abraham, Abraham! Jacob, Jacob! Moses, Moses!
Each time that God calls someone by name twice, he follows it with something profound and potentially life-changing. He called Moses to tell him that he sees the suffering in our world, and he wants us to do something about it. He called Samuel to demonstrate just how important it is to listen to God’s voice. He called Martha to remind her to slow down and spend time at the feet of Jesus.
The sixth person that Jesus calls by name twice is Simon Peter.
Impetuous and headstrong, Peter is easily one of the most relatable and likeable people we meet in the gospels. When Jesus entered Peter’s life, this plain fisherman became a new person with new goals and new priorities. He did not become a perfect person, however. Rather, Peter’s story is riddled with mistakes and missteps. I think that’s why we like him so much. But there was one blunder in Peter’s life that almost ruined him; one failure from which he almost didn’t recover. Thankfully, Jesus saw it coming and offered Peter some compassionate counsel.
The story we’re going to look at is from Luke 22, so if you have a Bible or an app on your phone, turn to that passage. The Last Supper made for a solemn evening. Emotions ran high as Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, began the tradition of communion, and revealed that there was a traitor in their midst.
When Jesus predicts his betrayal, the disciples start asking each other who could possibly betray Jesus—a discussion that evolves into a childish argument over who among them is the greatest! Peter must have been the loudest of the bunch, because it’s on the heels of this argument that Jesus singles Simon Peter out and calls his name twice! He says:
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” (Luke 22:31-34 NLT)
In response to the apostle’s arrogance, Jesus issues a sober warning about Satan. Satan wanted to crush Simon Peter and the others like grains of wheat. Ever since the garden of Eden Satan has always stood opposed to God’s people.
People's beliefs concerning Satan range from the silly to the abstract—from a little red guy with horns who sits on your shoulder urging you to sin, to an expression used to describe the personification of evil. The Bible, however, gives us a clear portrait of who Satan is and how he affects our lives. Put simply, the Bible defines Satan as an angelic being who fell from his position in heaven due to sin and is now completely opposed to God, doing all in his power to thwart God's purposes and tempt God’s people.
Twice in Scripture, Satan is referred to as “the tempter” (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5) and that’s his goal. He acts in a way that is subtle and seductive to tempt us step by step away from God and toward a life of sin and self-indulgence.
I heard a story once about this woman who comes home and shows her husband the expensive dress she just bought. When her husband gets upset about how much she spent, she jokes, “The devil made me buy it.” The husband says, “You should have said get thee behind me, Satan!” The woman replied, “I did and he said it looked as from the back as it does from the front!”
We might laugh, but that’s what Satan does. Satan makes sin look sexy. He makes it attractive, appealing, and appetizing. Back in the Garden of Eden, he made that single piece of fruit look like the most delicious, desirable delicacy on the planet. And he does the same thing with the sin hanging in front of you.
The devil doesn’t say, “I’m going to tempt you to become an alcoholic.” No, the devil says, “My doesn’t that drink look delicious—the color, the shimmer of the ice, the warm tingling feeling as you drink, the little umbrella or cherry stuck in the top?”
The devil doesn’t say, “I’m going to lead you into an affair that will destroy your marriage.” No, the devil says, “Isn’t she an attractive woman? Isn’t he charming and thoughtful? Wouldn’t you like to spend a little more time with that person?”
That’s how the devil works.
Peter, however, thought he was smarter and stronger than Satan. He replied to Jesus’s warning about Satan with a declaration of dedication: “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and even to die with you!” (Luke 21:33 NCV). In other words, “Bring it on! Lord, I would never lose my faith in you! I would never do anything to disappoint you!” John MacArthur calls Peter “the apostle with the foot-shaped mouth.” This is a good example of why. Peter thought he was standing strong, but Jesus knew that in less than twelve hours Peter would deny his Lord three times.
The Bible warns us not to make the same mistake. It says, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV). One of the biggest mistakes we can make is believing that we’re invulnerable to Satan’s attacks.
One of the cities we read about in the Bible is the city of Sardis. Jesus even addressed one the letters to the seven churches in Revelation to the church in Sardis. The city sat atop a steep hill roughly 1,500 feet above the main roads. The natural rock walls on the north, east and west slopes of this hill were almost completely vertical. The only access to the city was from a narrow path on the south slope. This made Sardis one of the most easily defensible cities of the ancient world. In fact, any attempt to capture the acropolis of Sardis was considered utterly impossible.
So around 547 BC, the King of Lydia instigated an attack against Persia. He was thoroughly beaten and retreated to Sardis where he felt quite safe and secure. King Cyrus of Persia and his men surrounded the city and camped outside of it for days, but the people of Sardis still didn’t feel threatened. Sitting comfortably within their fortress the citizens of Sardis became overconfident and complacent. Cyrus sent a handful of men around to the north side of the city, who then slowly and carefully climbed the rock wall which had been left completely unguarded. One by one the soldiers scaled the wall, entered the city and slaughtered its citizens in their sleep—a disaster that could have been easily avoided had they been alert.
Time and again history has proven that there is no such thing as an impenetrable fortress. You and I are no exception. Each one of us have weaknesses that we may not even be aware of. But Satan knows them and he’ll exploit them is he can. A troubling addiction. A betraying thought. A compromising situation. Temptation comes in many forms and varying levels of intensity. Whether it’s the box of donuts tempting you to cheat on your diet or a flirtatious co-worker tempting you to cheat on your spouse, we all face temptations—large or small—on an almost daily basis. Several years ago, the magazine Discipleship Journal asked readers to rank the area of temptation with which they struggled the most. See if some of these hit home:
1. Materialism (3000 ads per day, a million commercials by 20)
2. Pride
3. Self-centeredness
4. Laziness
5. Anger, Bitterness, and Sexual Lust including porn (tie)
8. Jealousy
9. Gluttony
10. Lying
Temptation is one of Satan’s most powerful tools for leading us away from God. The good news is—every time we face temptation, we have an opportunity to be like Christ. The Bible says Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV). Jesus faced temptations every day, but he never gave in. He always made the right choice. He can help us overcome the temptations Satan waves in front of us too. In fact, the Bible says, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT).
Whenever we’re wrestling with temptation, we can turn to God for help. That same study I mentioned revealed that 84% of respondents were able to resist temptation through prayer, 76% by avoiding compromising situations, and 66% through Bible reading. In other words, by relying on God and avoiding certain situations, I’m convinced that we can resist and overcome many of Satan’s temptations. The fact remains, however, that there will be times that we stumble and fall. Peter did.
Even though Christ warned him ahead of time, Peter still did exactly what Jesus said he would. Later in this same chapter, the Temple guard arrives to arrest Jesus and leads him to the home of the High Priest. Following at a distance, Peter waits in the courtyard warming himself by the fire until a servant girl recognizes him and announces, “This was one of Jesus’s followers!” But Peter denies it. “Woman, I don’t even know him,” Peter barks. After a while, someone else makes the same claim, but Peter replies, “No, I’m not!” Finally, a third person notices Peter’s accent and again accuses him of being Jesus’s disciple. Peter started cursing and swore, “I don’t know the man!” Just then, a rooster crowed, Jesus glanced at Peter from across the courtyard, and Christ’s words flashed through Peter’s mind. Running from the courtyard, Peter wept bitter tears.
Peter failed. He failed big time! This was likely the lowest moment in Peter’s life. But remember what Jesus said to him: “But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32 NLT).
Jesus knew how badly Peter would stumble and fall. But he prayed that Peter’s faith would remain intact. He knew that Peter would repent of his failure and renew his courage and convictions. When that happened, Jesus wanted to Peter to be there for the other disciples, to strengthen their faith too. Satan won a small battle in Peter’s life, but Jesus would win the war.
The fact is—all of us will stumble and fall. We all give in to temptation at times. But our failures don’t define us. What we do next defines us.
Charles Colson knows all about that.
As a presidential aid to Richard Nixon, often referred to as Nixon’s hatchet man, Charles became involved in the infamous Watergate scandal in the early 1970s. In 1974 Colson plead guilty to Watergate-related charges and served 7 months in Federal Prison Camp in Alabama. During the trials and inquiries, however, Colson accepted Christ and thus entered prison as born-again Christian. Colson emerged from prison with a new mission: mobilizing the Christian church to minister to prisoners. By God’s grace, the former White House “hatchet man” was transformed into a humble servant, seeking to proclaim God’s love and forgiveness to those most in need of mercy. He founded a ministry that has now expanded to over 100 countries, and continues to introduce the Good News of Jesus to prisoners and their families.
I think both Simon Peter and Chuck Colson are living proof that we serve a God of second chances and new beginnings. Peter may have stumbled and given in to temptation, but he kept his faith, repented and God used him to lead the other apostles in literally changing the world.
Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls team are remembered for their six championships and record breaking seasons, but many people forget the struggles they had climbing to the top of the NBA. Prior to winning their first championship in 1990, they lost badly in the final round of the eastern conference finals two years in a row to the Detroit Pistons. Reflecting on those first two attempts to make it to the NBA Finals, Michael Jordan once said, “Failure always made me try harder the next time... I’ve failed over and over in my career and that’s why I succeed.” The truth is—failure is a part of success. If we let it, it will strengthen our resolve.
Life is full of fumbles and stumbles—fraught with temptations and the snares of Satan. There may be a moment in your life when you mess up big time. Maybe that time has already come. But remember, your failures don’t define you. What you do next defines you. Satan may trip us up occasionally, but if we hold tightly to our faith, turn back to God and learn from our mistakes—then God can still use us to do great things.
With this entire experience in his rearview mirror, Peter would later write, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT). That sounds like the advice of someone who speaks from experience. Peter was almost devoured because he wasn’t alert.
I think Jesus called Simon Peter’s name twice to assure him that, yes, Satan is prowling around looking for someone to devour and we’re all vulnerable at times, but thanks to God’s grace we can all experience forgiveness and a fresh start.
Conclusion:
Jesus’s first words to Simon Peter were, “Come, follow me” (Mark 1:17). His last words to him were, “Follow me” (John 21:22). Every step of the way between those two challenges was filled with stumbles and missteps—but Peter never gave up. His faith never failed and Peter continued to follow Jesus into eternity. I pray that we might follow in his footsteps.
Next week, we’ll read the last story in this series; that last time that God calls someone by name twice.
Invitation:
In the meantime, maybe you’ve stumbled and fallen yourself. Maybe you’ve given into to temptation and now you bear the guilt and shame of failure. I want to encourage you to be like Peter. Don’t let go of your faith, turn back to God, seek his forgiveness and allow him to give you a fresh start. If I can help you with that today, then come forward while we stand and sing.
