There are words that every Christian is striving to hear one day, and they are found in:
Matthew 25:23 - His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
While we know that this portion of scripture is within the context of the parable of the Servants that were given talents to multiply for their master, we also know that the Lord was comparing the Kingdom of God to this story since it says in verse: Matthew 25:14
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
Jesus would often use parables to explain to the people of that day what the Kingdom of Heaven was going to be like. In this parable, he let the people know that each person would be given a measure of goods to be stewards of, and it would be according to their ability that He would give it out.
The desire of the master in this particular parable was that they would take the money given to them, and multiply it for the good of the master. The one with 5 turned his into 10, the one with 2 turned his into 4, however, the one who had received 1 went and buried his, and therefore would receive tremendous rebuke from the master upon his return.
The key element in this story though has nothing to do with the amount of talents given, but the degree of faithfulness that was exhibited by each of the servants.
The same degree of commendation was given to each of the faithful servants as they applied what was given by them, and were faithful stewards regardless of being given 5 or 2 to work with.
I know that today the Lord still requires faithfulness in all we do for the Kingdom of God.
I am of the firm belief that each one of us here today are simply stewards of gifts, abilities, time, talents, and finances that God has placed into our lives, and it is totally up to us what we are going to do with those things, however, it is totally up to God as to how we are going to be held accountable one day.
When we hear the term today, “He or she has been unfaithful” – Our mind is immediately drawn to thinking the unthinkable about a husband or wife.
Today, when I use the term, I am going to be referring to the fact that we can be “unfaithful” in our vows to the Lord, and our life has not exactly lived up to what we have claimed with our lips.
The greatest thing that many people will fight in these times is “condemnation” and deep sorrow over their lack of faithfulness and commitment to the Lord in spite of the many claims of going with Him all the way.
They have sung songs such as: “I will serve thee, because I Love thee”, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back”, “I surrender all”, yet to find that indeed there have been areas in their lives they have not surrendered, and have in fact turned their back on the Lord looking for an easy way out.
How do we stand in these times of Unfaithfulness? Is there hope for the one who has been unfaithful? Even when we do not understand our bad choices, is there hope?
I say there is, and we are going to look at the life of Peter, one of the Lord’s disciples to gain assurance in this area.
Again, as last week we are going to look at three areas today:
The Test
The Travail
The Triumph
First of all today, we see:
I. The Test – To Confess Or Deny Christ –
We all have heard the story of the Last Supper, and on that very first Communion service, Jesus gave each of them the bread and the wine, and then he said these words: Matthew 26:21
And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
All of them were very sorrowful as it says in verse 22, and each one of them asked the Lord, “Is it I?” Finally, it came time for Judas to ask “Is it I?” Vs. 25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
After they partook of this first Communion, we read in Matthew 26:31
Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. Matthew 26:32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
Matthew 26:33
Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
We see that Peter stepped forward to assure the Lord that this could never be the case with him! I’m Peter! Lord, we’ve walked on water together, I’ve been there for you all the way, and there is no possible way that I could ever turn my back on you!
We see in Peter here what might often be the first step in the downfall, and beginning of Faithlessness, and that is a high degree of Self-Confidence.
So we see today that:
a. Self-Confidence Was No Match For Real Trials
While Peter’s intentions may have been good, he made the statement before all the facts were in. Remember, they never quite did get what was going on here, and the death of Jesus ultimately stunned them. Even though they had been warned by Christ many times that it would take place, they still were not quite ready.
The Bible says in
Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
I believe there are some differences between having confidence, and having over-confidence.
One person once said the following:
Confidence is keeping your chin up; overconfidence is sticking your neck out.
We’ve heard it often said to “never say never” – In other words, don’t feel like you are so far down the road spiritually that there is absolutely no way that anything wrong could ever happen to you in the area of your spiritual walk with the Lord.
Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Even though Jesus had just given him the assurance that there were going to be many people that would be offended with Him and turn and walk the other way, Peter still felt like there would be absolutely nothing that would turn him away from the master, and how dare Jesus even bring it up.
I pray that we will always be on guard for what the enemy may try in our lives, and that we would have perception to the tricks and ways of the enemy. He is still a cunning, deceiving, lying enemy, and will do everything within his power to trip up the Saints of God.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
In our quest to stand when we do not understand, it is important to remember that our reliance is in the Lord, and not in our own ability to overcome the enemy. We must rely upon Him fully.
Not only do we see that Self-Confidence Was No Match For Real Trials, we also see that:
b. Peter’s Denial Was In 3 Phases
Well, the moments of truth began to arrive in Peter’s life as we see the betrayal of the Lord took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Disciple’s all fled even as Jesus had predicted they would:
Matthew 26:56-58
But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
[57] And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. [58] But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.
Yes, it seems that with Peter there is always an element in his life that made him stand out from the rest of the Disciples, and while the Bible makes it clear that they all fled and went in many different directions in fear for their own lives that he hung around at a distance.
Perhaps he gave some thought to the commitment he had made a few hours before, and wanted to at least follow to see what was going to happen to the Master.
This was the same Peter who had arisen to take on an entire armed unit with only his sword, and had cut off the ear of one of the men who came to arrest Jesus. He probably somehow believe that Jesus would also rise and fight, and this would be their moment of glory as they take on the world together, but we do not see that happening at all.
Jesus chose a different way than Peter had originally thought about. In other words, Jesus had confused Peter with his actions!
Has Christ ever confused you with His actions? We are ready to rise and fight with everything within us, and all of a sudden He chooses a different way that we had never even thought about. It wasn’t even a Plan B!
First, we see that he acted confused, and tried to divert their attention away from him.
Matthew 26:69
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. Matthew 26:70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
Second, he used an oath in denying that he knew the Lord.
Matthew 26:71-72
And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. [72] And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
Third, he began to curse and swear.
Matthew 26:73-74
And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. [74] Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Believers who deny Christ often begin doing so subtly by pretending not to know him. When opportunities to discuss religious issues come up, they walk away or pretend they don’t know the answers. With only a little more pressure, they can be induced to deny flatly their relationship with Christ. If you find yourself subtly diverting conversation so you don’t have to talk about Christ, watch out. You may be on the road to disowning him.
In our desire to stand even in the midst of temptation to deny Christ, we need to remember the subtle approach the enemy often takes in his desire to trip us up, and make us fall.
So after we see the Test, and the fact that Peter was Unfaithful to the Lord in spite of His claims to do, and be otherwise, we see:
II. The Travail – He Went Out And Wept Bitterly
Matthew 26:75
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
As the cock crowed just as Jesus had said would happen, it was like an alarm going off in his mind with the words of Jesus rushing back to him as he realized that he had denied Christ, not because Christ said he would, but because of his failure to trust God during this time of trial.
All of his self-confidence, pride, and haughtiness was brought down, and at this point it was just he and God facing the reality of his faithlessness.
He had fallen so far, so fast, and all he could do was weep in sorrow at his denial of ever knowing the Lord.
We see Peter here:
a. Weeping Over His Faithlessness
The very thing he said he would never do was now a stark reality.
He denied Christ to “save his own hide” so to speak.
The applause and admiration of the crowds was now only a memory as he began to take account of his life, and whether he was following Christ for the acclaim that came with being “one of the 12”.
Even though Peter had followed Christ through the good times, we cannot blame him either for deserting Christ in the previous moments of difficulty and ridicule.
We think of the time in John 6 when Jesus began to share with the crowd that was assembled to hear Him speak the very hard words that if they did not eat of his flesh and drink of his blood then they would not live forever. The Bible goes on to say in John 6:66-69
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. [67] Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? [68] Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. [69] And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
No, we cannot be too hard on Peter who asked the Lord to call him on to the water while the other disciples stayed in the boat.
However, here is the most faithful disciple now in a place where he denied Christ. His fall seemed farther since he had risen to such greatness in the eyes of the other disciples.
I believe today that just because we have served God for a number of years, does not mean that we are immune from denying Him. We must boldly proclaim that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Mark 8:38
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels."
b. Peter Was At A Crossroad Just As Judas
While the severity of what Peter had done did not seem as great as what Judas had done in betraying Christ, we still see that the 2 men were at Crossroads after they realized their sin.
We read about Judas: Matthew 27:3-5
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. [4] "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to us?" they replied. "That’s your responsibility."
[5] So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
Judas was convicted in his heart, however, instead of turning TO Christ, he turned AWAY and the Bible says that he threw the money into the temple and went out and hung himself.
The difference between Peter and Judas is the difference between Heaven and Hell. One threw himself on the mercy of the Lord, the other just could not believe that somehow he could be forgiven in spite of his faithlessness.
I believe today that if Judas would have cried out to the Lord for mercy that Jesus would have forgiven him.
In our times of trying to stand when we do not understand, even in our times of faithlessness, we must run TO the Master instead of AWAY from Him. His mercy is great! His forgiveness is free!
We too will be confronted with Crossroad moments in our lives. Will we be a Judas or a Peter?
Not only do we see The Test – to confess or deny Christ, and the Travail of Weeping Bitterly, we also see today:
III. The Triumph – Peter Would Be Used By God
Following the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus had showed himself to his disciples on two occasions, and the 3rd occasion would be the time that Jesus dealt with the issue of Peter’s denial and assured him of His love for him.
We read of this 3rd occasion in John 21 as Peter and the other disciples decided to go fishing which they of course were very familiar with.
John 21:3
Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
As the story goes on, a man on the short shouted out and asked them if they had caught anything, and of course they told him no. They were then told by this man to cast the nets on the other side of the boat, and a tremendous harvest of fish was brought into the nets.
They then realized it was the Lord, and he invited them to come and sit by the fire where he had prepared a meal for them.
After they finished eating we see that:
a. Peter Was Called of Christ To Follow Him
John 21:15-19
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
[16] Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
[17] The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. [18] I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." [19] Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
In this beach scene, Jesus led Peter through an experience that would remove the cloud of his denial. Peter had disowned Jesus three times. Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. When Peter answered yes, Jesus told him to feed his sheep.
It is one thing to say you love Jesus, but the real test is willingness to serve him. Peter had repented, and here Jesus was asking him to commit his life.
Peter’s life changed when he finally realized who Jesus was. His occupation changed from fisherman to evangelist; his identity changed from impetuous to “rock;” and his relationship to Jesus changed—he was forgiven, and he finally understood the significance of Jesus’ words about his death and resurrection.
I believe we can stand today even when we do not understand when we realize that even in our times of faithlessness that God can and will still use us for His glory as we are repentant before Him. The Call of God is still sure. Lives are still at stake, and God can still use us, if we love Him “more than these”.
Finally today, not only do we see as part of Peter’s Triumph the call of God, we see also that
b. Peter Became The First Pentecostal Preacher
On the Day of Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2 we know that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon that first church who waited in obedience to the command of the Lord to go and wait until the promise came from Heaven.
The Holy Spirit was outpoured, and a Preacher was needed to declare the truth of what was happening to the people of that day, and the Bible says: Acts 2:14
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Here was the same Peter standing up on the Day of Pentecost without a shred of fear in his body declaring boldly the richness of the experience and the word of God.
This same Peter who had cowered by the fire before, was now explaining a different kind of Fire, and it was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the people spoke in other tongues in that first Pentecostal church.
Even though Peter had been “faithless”, God had allowed Him to go through the Test, The Travail, and now we see the Triumph as he preached words that were not even necessarily politically correct.
Acts 2:22-23
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: [23] Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
