The doubling of words almost sounds like people when they stutter. Often people who stutter repeat their words.
I love to hear people who stutter. I do not mean that in a derogatory way, I REALLY ENJOY HEARING PEOPLE TALK WHO STUTTER.
Illus: A really huge muscular guy with a bad stutter goes to a counter in a department store and asks,
• "W-w-w-where’s the m-m-m-men’s dep-p-p-partment?" The clerk behind the counter just looks at him and says nothing.
• The man repeats himself: "W-w-w-where’s the m-m-m-men’s dep-p-p-partment?" Again, the clerk doesn’t answer him.
• The guy asks several more times: "W-w-w-where’s the m-m-m-men’s dep-p-p-partment?"
And the clerk just seems to ignore him. Finally, the guy is angry and storms off.
• The customer who was waiting in line behind the guy asks the clerk, "Why wouldn’t you answer that guy's question?"
• The clerk answers, "D-d-d-do you th-th-th-think I w-w-w-want to get b-b-b-beat up?!!"
Illus: About the worst case of a person who had a problem speaking was a young man who wanted to buy some chicken feed for his pet chicken. He speech was so bad that it was difficult to understand what he was saying.
• He went to the hardware store and said to the clerk, “Mither, do you thell thicken theed?” The clerk said, “Son, I am sorry but I can not understand you.”
• He came back the next day and said, “Mither, do you thell thicken theed?” The clerk said, “Son, I am sorry but I can not understand you.”
• He did the same thing for two weeks and each time the store clerk would send him away.
• After two weeks, he walks in the store with his dead chicken and says, “Mither, you want to buy a dead thicken?”
The Bible is filled with passages where doubling of words are used.
It seems to me that every time we see God or Christ using this repetition in the scripture, there is a sense of urgency to what is being said.
• We find this in Genesis 22:11 when the “Angel of the LORD called ... out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham.” This double call was for the sparing of Isaac.
• In Genesis 46:2, “God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob.” This double call assured him that taking his family to Egypt was the right decision.
• In Exodus 3:4, God called to Moses “Out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses,” and called him to be a deliverer for Israel.
• In 1 Samuel 3:10, “The LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel.” In doing so, God revealed the judgment of the house of Eli.
• In Matthew 23:37, Jesus bemoaned the spiritual desolation of a city and said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.”
• In Luke 10:41, Jesus was emphasizing the merit of time spent with Him and said, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.”
• In Acts 9:4, God got the attention of a lost man and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”
Here in our text, Jesus is urgently warning Simon Peter of the spiritual danger that he is in. “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.”
I want to point out three things from Jesus’ words to Simon in Luke 22:31-32.
I. THIS WAS A FRIGHTENING SITUATION
This is a very disturbing message when we consider THE DESIRE OF SATAN.
Look at the word “Desired”. This is the word “Exaiteomai” (pronounced as Ex-ahee-teh'-om-ahee) which means to demand (for trial).
Some folks may have a policeman pull up in their yard and the policeman will give them a subpoena to appear in court.
Once they receive these orders, they have to appear in court. If they do not, the next time a policeman comes it will be to BRING them to court, even if they have to use force.
God’s Word is telling Simon that Satan has demanded he be tried!
THIS IS A FRIGHTFUL SITUATION!
Illus: The President of the United States is the most powerful man on the face of the earth. He has enormous powers!
• Suppose he disliked you and wanted to do you harm
• Suppose he misused his powers to do you harm
WOULD YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT? You certainly would!
Next to God, Satan is the most powerful force on the face of the earth. And suppose I told you he dislikes you very much and wants to bring as much harm to you as he can. DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT? Yes, you certainly do!
This verse of scripture reminds us of Job 1:8-10, where God said to Satan: “Hast thou considered my servant Job...?” Notice, Satan says he certainly had, but that God had built a fence around him and he could not get to him.
Listen, it is a FRIGHTENING thing when you realize the most dangerous force on the earth, next to the Lord Jesus, is out to bring as much harm as he can bring to our life.
THIS IS A VERY A FRIGHTENING SITUATION, but also-
II. THIS WAS A STARTLING SITUATION
It is startling when you consider the DESTRUCTIVENESS OF SIFTING.
Notice again that Jesus said to Simon, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31).
This word “sift” is only used this one time in the New Testament, and it means, “to blow away and scatter,” or it may also mean, “to riddle or perplex.”
According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, the figurative meaning of the word in this statement is, “by inward agitation to try one’s faith to the verge of overthrow.”
Satan wants to do all he can to bring as much chaos and confusion into our lives as he can.
Illus: Seems there were these three professionals sitting around talking about the oldest profession (not THAT one!).
• The Doctor says, "Well, the Bible says that God took a rib out of Adam to make woman. Since that clearly required surgery, then the oldest profession is surely medicine."
• The Engineer shakes his head and replies, "No, no. The Bible also says that God created the world out of void and chaos. To do that, God must surely have been an engineer. Therefore, Engineering is the oldest profession."
• The Lawyer smiles smugly and leans discreetly forward. "Ah," he says, "but who do you think created the chaos?"
It is true that lawyers have done their share of causing chaos, but I can assure you that every day, Satan is doing everything he can to make life as miserable as he can for us.
It’s clear that Simon is in a startling situation. In 1 Thess. 2:18, we read, “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; BUT SATAN HINDERED US.”
Wherever Paul and the other apostles went, Satan was there waiting for their arrival, to cause as much trouble as he could.
THIS WAS A FRIGHTFUL SITUATION, THIS WAS A STARTLING SITUATION and -
III. THIS WAS A FORTIFYING SITUATION
It is a fortifying situation when you consider that the Lord Jesus said in Luke 22:32, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not”.
It’s helpful any time someone says that they have been praying for you, but WHAT A COMFORT IT MUST HAVE BEEN WHEN THE LORD JESUS LET SIMON KNOW HE WAS PRAYING FOR HIM!
Had James or John told Simon they were praying for him it would have been wonderful, but to know that Jesus Himself is praying for you is awesome! What a great source of encouragement.
Was this a blessing that only Simon enjoyed?
I don’t believe so, look at 1 John 2:1, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
Some Christians have the mistaken idea that you can blunder and God the Father is all over your case.
I do not know about you, but as a child I always hated those times when the teacher passed out report cards. About the only “A’s” I made were in PE and this did not excite my dad at all.
But I am not the only person. Here are some actual things that teachers wrote on report cards they sent home to parents.
Illus: These are real comments made by teachers on their students report cards.
• Since my last report, your child has hit rock bottom and has started to dig.
• I would not allow this student to breed.
• Your child is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.
• The student has a "full six-pack" but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together.
• This child has been working with glue too much.
• When your daughter's IQ reaches 50, she should sell.
• The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming.
• If this student were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week.
• It's impossible to believe the sperm that created this child beat out 1,000,000 others.
• The wheel is turning but the hamster is dead.
When they are growing up, many children mess up and their parents are there to pounce on them. Now as a Christian, they feel that when they mess up, God the Father is ready to pounce on them.
Most likely, many have this concept of God because they were raised in a home by parents that came down on them hard as soon as they made a mistake.
But notice how John writes about God the Father. He says God wants us to know that He does not want us to sin, BUT WHEN WE DO SIN, we have an advocate with the Father, “Jesus Christ the righteous.”
WHAT WAS JESUS PRAYING FOR?
He prayed that Simon’s, “faith fail not” (Luke 22:32).
As “Albert Barnes’ Notes” state: “The words ‘fail not’ mean ‘utterly fail’ or fail altogether – that is, apostatize.”
Simon did fail in certain respects, but he would be restored, and there’s no doubt that we can attribute that to Jesus’ prayer.
THIS WAS A FRIGHTFUL SITUATION, THIS WAS A STARTLING SITUATION, THIS WAS A FORTIFYING SITUATION and -
IV. THIS IS A FUTURE SITUATION
There is not only help for Simon in Jesus’ prayer, there is hope for Simon in Jesus’ next statement. He said in Luke 22:32, “And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Let’s notice THE CONVERSION that is mentioned.
Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament says the word “Converted is simply the Latinized rendering of the word “to turn round.”
Simon would deny the Lord, but things would turn around for Simon, and I’m convinced that happened in John 21 when Jesus asked him three times, “Lovest thou me?” (John 21:15-17).
Let’s also notice THE COMMISSION that is given. “Strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32).
They too will be apt to fall, therefore give them strength.
When we reach out to others it does two things:
• IT STRENGTHENS THEM
• IT STRENGTHENS US
How many times we have visited the sick in the hospital to strengthen them, and we left being strengthened ourselves?
Conclusion:
It’s interesting to observe Simon’s self confidence in his response to Jesus’ warning message.
We read in Luke 22:33-34, “And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.”
He was saying, Lord . . .
• I’m not going to fail you
• I’m not going to falter
• I’m not going to succumb to Satan
But he did! And as confident as we may be in our own faith and tenacity and stability, we are all subject to fall right into Satan’s traps.
When we face the temptations, remember that Jesus is praying for us.
If we should fall, let’s get back up and try to help our brethren not do the same thing. Amen.
We see:
I. THIS WAS A FRIGHTENING SITUATION
II. THIS WAS A STARTLING SITUATION
III. THIS WAS A FORTIFYING SITUATION
IV. THIS IS A FUTURE SITUATION
