SIFTED SAINTS
Luke 22:28-34
28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,
30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
33 But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
34 Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."
Daniel Morgan commanded a unit called Morgan’s Raiders during the Revolutionary War. He was on the colonist’s side. It was his strategy that led to the turning point in the war at the Battle of Saratoga. Morgan told his riflemen, “Forget the poor fellows who fight for six pence a day. Concentrate your fire on the officers. In fact, try your best to hit their epaulets that officers wear on their shoulders.” As a result of Morgan’s orders, British General Burgoine’s officer ranks were so depleted that he surrendered at Saratoga.
Well, Morgan’s strategy is still the way to win a battle. When Jesus walked the earth, He knew all too well the fierceness of Satan’s power—that he comes with every weapon in hell to sift the Lord’s people. He has been doing this from ancient times, when Job was severely put to the test. I don’t think any of us can comprehend the great conflict right now that exists in the spirit realm.
Nor do we realize how determined Satan is to destroy all believer’s faith who have fixed their hungering hearts firmly on going all the way with Jesus. You see, when we make the decision to follow Christ in total obedience, an alarm goes off in hell. We become a threat to the kingdom of darkness and a prime target of demonic forces.
“Simon, Simon, Jesus says, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat.”
Here our Lord introduces the subject of sifting saints. In His day, grain workers used a sieve just before they sacked grain. They shoveled wheat into a square box covered with netting, then turned the box upside down and shook it violently. The grit and dirt fell through the netting until only the grain kernels remained.
So then, “sift” in this verse means “to be turned upside down, shaken and separated–to be shocked through the agitation of sudden trials.” These trials can take many forms—sickness, death of a loved one, loss of reputation, financial disaster, loss of employment, broken relationships, etc. The whole purpose of this sifting is that we would turn from our faith!
Jesus used this analogy to say to Peter, “Satan believes you’re nothing but grit and dirt and that when he puts you in the sieve and shakes you, you will fall through to the ground.”
Not unlike what Satan said to God re: Job. “Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
Please note that Jesus did not pray that Peter would be spared from Satan’s sifting. Rather He prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. That is Satan’s prime target: OUR FAITH!
1. NOTICE WHEN THE SIFTING CAME
It came immediately after a great revelation. Peter and the other disciples had jusr received a promise from Jesus that they would have a fruitful ministry. In verse 29, Jesus said, “I confer on you a kingdom.” He told them that they would eat and drink at His table and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. In essence, He told them that He was going to channel His kingdom through them, just as the Father had made Him a channel of His glory. In addition to this, Jesus said that they would become princes, ruling and reigning with Him.
So be on your guard when you’ve had a great spiritual experience–when you feel the Lord’s presence and power in your life—when you move closer to Him than ever before.
I can almost hear the devil saying to God, “So, You think Peter is a rock do You? You think you can build your church on his kind of faith. Well, let me put him to the test. Let me place him in my sieve and shake him for a while. He won’t last. He’ll cave in.”
Why did Satan single Peter out? He goes after that individual who can do his kingdom the most harm. He had heard Jesus promise the disciples another baptism—one of the Holy Spirit and fire. He knew that Peter’s leadership would only be expanded after Pentecost. If Peter’s faith could be called into question, then his fall would have a disastrous effect on the other disciples. That’s one reason the devil really concentrates his efforts on pastors and other Christian leaders.
Maybe you’re being sifted right now. You feel as though your life has been turned upside down and shaken apart. You might ask, “Why me?” “Why now?”
At least you can rejoice that you are such a threat to Satan. He doesn’t bother with those who have no or little commitment to follow Christ. He doesn’t need to. At least you’re not like those we read about in Acts 19. “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."
Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
Principle: Satan seeks to sift only those who are a threat to his work. The deeper you go with Christ, the more Satan will want you to turn back.
2. SIFTING CAN REMOVE PRIDE
Look at verse 33: Here’s Peter, on the brink of committing a grievous sin, yet he is very prideful. He says, “I’m ready for anything. I can handle it.” Jesus was trying to wake him up to the danger just ahead. But it seems that Peter is too overconfident. This reminds me of Paul’s warning in I Cor.10:12: “So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
Within 24 hours of his boasting. Peter became a moral and spiritual failure–cursing and denying Christ 3 times in public view.
Here are three possible reasons for sifting (from God’s perspective):
1) To silence Satan. Job didn’t curse God. In fact, he said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
2) To help us develop more sympathy for others (see II Cor.1:3-4).
3) To fill up that which is lacking in our lives—humility, dependence on God.
Let’s not be too harsh on Peter. At least he did not totally desert Jesus. Only he and John remained near Jesus after His arrest. While we may not be called on to deny Christ openly, there is such a thing as “passive denial.” Examples:
1) When we’re to busy to pray, we deny that He is the center of our life.
2) When we neglect His Word, we deny that He is competent to guide us.
3) When we worry, we deny that He is Lord of our circumstances.
4) When we turn away from those in need, we deny that He is a God of mercy who has put us here to be His hands and feet.
5) When we fail to speak for Him when He prompts us, we deny His real presence.
3. THE ROLE OF PRAYER
When we hear of someone who is being sifted by Satan, what should we do? What did Jesus do about Peter’s imminent fall? He prayed for him. In verse 32, He said, “Peter, I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail.”
What the Lord was really saying was, “Peter is worth saving. Satan desires him, but I desire him more.” Judas could not be saved; he had no heart for the Lord. He was sold out to greed and that became an open door for the devil. But Peter truly loved the Lord and Jesus said to him, “I have prayed for you.” Can you imagine sweeter words in all the world?
Lord, give us that kind of love! When we see brothers and sisters compromising of heading for trouble or disaster, let us love them enough to warn them as firmly as Jesus warned Peter, Then we’ll be able to say, “I’m praying for you.”
In the Greek, “you” is plural, meaning “all of you.” Jesus was speaking about praying not only for Peter but for all of the disciples---and that means you and me today!
Heb 4:15-16
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin.
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
4. AFTER THE SIFTING
When Peter was sifted, he failed miserably. But it was not a lasting or permanent kind of failure. After his denial Luke tell us that “he went our and wept bitterly” (Lk.22:61,62).
Just because someone fails, it does not make him a failure. What does make a person a failure? Is it not his decision to give up?
I picture Peter walking toward the Judean hills, falling on his face, crying out to the Lord for forgiveness. He’s at the lowest point of his life. Ashamed of his denial, especially in light of the fact that he was a leader among the disciples.
But then something wonderful happened. The Holy Spirit brought to Peter’s memory the words of his Master: “I have prayed for you.” They brought hope and comfort to his soul. He also remembered the words, “When you have returned to me, strengthen your brothers.”
How manyh times Peter must have played this over and over in his mind, pondering, “Didn’t Jesus say I would return to Him, be brought back to Him? Didn’t He say I still had a ministry? After what I did, can I really help others? Well, consider this:
1) Peter was the first disciple to reach the tomb when they were told that Jesus had risen.
2) He was with the other disciples when Jesus later appeared in their midst.
3) He was on the beach with the risen Christ when He said, “Peter, feed my sheep.”
4) He was there worshiping when Jesus was translated to glory.
5) He became a mighty preacher and missionary and leader in the early church
When we see someone else weeping, broken, having failed at some point, we ought to say to them, “When this sifting is over, when your faith is stronger, when you are restored—God will use you.”
5. GOD IS THE ULTIMATE RECYCLER
He takes the trash in our lives and converts it into treasure.
Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purposes.”
2 Pet 1:10-11 “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
One day soon, the sifting process will end. Satan will have done his worst but our Advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ, will win this battle for me.
