Silencing the Rooster.
Matthew 26:74-75NKJV
As a child, being a slave on a plantation, Booker T. Washington was awakened every morning by the crowing of a rooster. And he hated it. Every morning the rooster would start making its loud racket before the sun even came up. Eventually, the rooster came to symbolize being in prisoned, the long days, and the backbreaking labor of a slave.
But then, Abraham Lincoln delivered the emancipation proclamation and pronounced freedom for all salves. Word of this landmark decision spread quickly and the next morning, as Booker was waking up, he heard the rooster making all kinds of ruckus. But when he opened his eyes he couldn't believe what he saw: his mother was chasing the rooster around the barn yard with an ax! That glorious day, The Washington family fried and ate their alarm clock for lunch, effectively silencing their reminder of slavery.
This thought has stayed with me this week. What rooster in your life do you need to silence?
How about the, rooster of selfishness? The rooster of be reserved? The rooster of holding- back. How about the rooster of self, pride? The rooster of self-righteousness? The rooster of self hate?
Matthew 26:74-75TPT Peter denied it, and using profanity he said, “I don’t know the man!” At that very moment the sound of a crowing rooster pierced the night. 75 Then Peter remembered the prophecy of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows you will have denied me three times.” With a shattered heart, Peter left the courtyard, sobbing with bitter tears.
Rather quickly, Peter publicly denies ever knowing Jesus.
What do you do when the heat is on, and persecution present.
Peter denies the word who became flesh.
Peter denies his association with God.
Peter denies the light of life. He covered His personal light with a blanket of fear. Again, Peter cruses, “I don’t know Him!”
What’s going on with Jesus? Jesus falsely accused, Jesus on trial, by popular poll, Jesus will be murdered, The crowd shouted, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”
A murderer shall be released.
Scriptural reference is, Matthew 27:15-16TPT Now, every year at Passover it was the custom of the governor to pardon a prisoner and release him to the people—anyone they wanted. 16 And at that time, Pilate was holding in custody a notorious criminal named Barabbas.
Peter might had thought, “I’m next in-line.” He might have thought, Hard-times? Persecution? Loss of freedom? Severe pain? Confinement? Death, really? Not now.
Matthew 26:74-75TM Then he got really nervous and swore. “I don’t know the man!”
Just then a rooster crowed. 75 Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried.
Peter failed—He had disowned the warm-hearted carpenter’s son. Jesus.
As believer’s, we are called to never be— ashamed!
Luke 9:26TPT So why then are you ashamed of being my disciple? Are you ashamed of the revelation-truth I give to you? “I, the Son of Man, will one day return in my radiant brightness, with the holy angels and in the splendor and majesty of my Father. On that day I will be ashamed of everyone who has been ashamed of me.
Peter refused to silence the rooster, and now he’s paying a high price for his double mindedness.
James, the half brother to Jesus, wrote, James 1:8KJV A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
A man with two-minds—never inharmony. Can’t be trusted. Unstable in all his ways.
What ‘rooster’, or ‘crutch’ are you holding onto? Whatever dominates your life? What’s fishing for your affections?
Jesus called Peter from an occupation of fishing, to a life of fishing for men.
As I’ve been thinking—Fishing for men can be very messy. If you were to ask Peter about his present situation of denial, He might say, “It’s complicated. I’m lost, If this is all it is?
How could Peter possibly continue on as ‘Peter’ the Rock? One answer, the Holy Ghost. Peter, filled with the revelation of Christ being the Son of the Living God.
Peter the first preacher to see a harvest of over 5,000 souls with only two sermons. That’s powerful ammunition!
However, Presently, Peter’s emotions and thoughts were anything but stable, His Lord, His leader, His friend was being crucified. Peter could offer no healing, No revelation, anything but, a godly herald message, anything but salvation…
There are 4 keys in silencing the rooster:
The first key in silencing the enemy is—Be true to yourself, and be true to God.
William Shakespeare, To Thine Own Self Be True.
Many times, we just talk without any knowledge of what we’re talking about. Nervous energy, or just good manners.
Peter paid a high price for his choice of words—His cursing. However, Peter’s words revealed Peter’s heart.
Which getting your heart revealed to you isn’t a bad thing…
It was Peter’s wake-up call. A Word from the Lord, “God’s preparing you for something bigger than you—It will take God.”
James 1:26ESV If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.
Peter’s religion was useless, He needed a resurrected Jesus. Believe me, Peter got Him.
Proverbs 21:23ESV Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Remain clam—God’s in control.
Did you know that the word—‘Selah occurs 74 times in the Bible. It occurs seventy-one times in the Psalms, and three times in Habakkuk.
It’s part of God Holy inspired word. (God breathed upon it). The Hebrew, for ‘Selah’ is to lift up, exalt.
Some scholars believe that ‘Selah’ was a musical notation possibly meaning "silence" or “pause.”
“I’ve always stated that to me, Selah means to stop, or slow down, do some thinking. Ponder. Muse. Meditate. P.H
Psalm 19:14ESV Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
The key is—you’re to please the Lord.
Again, The first key in silencing the rooster is—Be true to yourself, and be true to God.
The second key to silencing the rooster is, fear only God.
There are a lot of folk with no fear of God. Their demeanor, their attitude, their speech, their lack…gives them away.
Again, I believe that if you want to silence the enemy you have to—fear only God.
P.H
For many, they fear only men…Who do I need to know? How can I be their friend?
Paul wrote in, Galatians 1:1NKJV Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),
For me, the book of Galatians hold some of the greatest words written by the Apostles Paul. So real, so authentic.
Galatians 1: 2-9NKJV and all the brethren who are with me, 3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Do you think maybe the Apostles Paul was trying to get his point across—that there is no other way than the Jesus way.
I love, verse 10, of Galatians 1, For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
Paul is saying—If I speak anything other than, God’s word, God’s grace, God’s love, God’s salvation, God’s healing, let me, or that man be accursed.
Remember, Peter’s language cursed him.
Again, the second key to silencing the rooster is, fear only God.
The third key to silencing the rooster is, to always live, speak and act out of faith.
When Peter needed it the most, he left his faith confession.
Hebrews 4:14NKJV Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
This I know—Faith in God silences the devil. It confuses him, because he’s expecting you to fall— apart, but you’ve gathered a big smile on your face.
I learned much by keeping these two verses in together for perfect context:
Listen, Philippians 4:4-5TPT Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let your joy overflow! 5 And let gentleness be seen in every relationship, for our Lord is ever near.
“Now if joy is near, gentleness is close behind.” P.H
Philippians 4:4-5TM Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! 5 Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
When you think about it, There’s really no other way to live.
Believe it or not, but only faith pleases God.
In fact, Hebrews 11:6KJV But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
How do I diligently seek Him? I seek Him in everything. Say, “I believe.” If you believe, then you diligently seek Him.
Again, the third key to silencing the rooster is, to always live, speak and act out of faith.
The Fourth and final key to silencing the rooster is, You dying, while serving others.
What if Peter would had said, “Yes, I was with Him, and yes, I believe He’s our Messiah?
Peter learned how to stop the crow of the rooster, through his obedience to Jesus—His King. P.H
Believe it or not, but right this very moment, you’re leaving a legacy. That—between your date of birth, and your date of death.
—
Listen to the words of Jesus on you dying to the flesh while serving others.
Matthew 20:27-28TLB And if you want to be right at the top, you must serve like a slave. 28 Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
This thought came to me, Howard, If you want to kill a service stop right here. But wait—You said you wanted to silence the rooster!
Benediction.
