Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Mark 14:66-72

Transcript

Mark 14:66-72 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
Please open up your copy of God's Word to the Gospel according to Mark.
0:05
! We're in chapter 14.
0:08
We're continuing our verse-by-verse exposition through Mark's Gospel.
0:14
! Before we get there, I had intended to make an announcement at the beginning, but I was kind of getting some conflicted reports.
0:19
Those of you who have been around for a while know that this building has some water issues.
0:25
We're on a well, and sometimes the water doesn't work so well.
0:30
Don't pun intended.
0:32
And this seems to be one of those mornings for us, and so it wasn't working, and then it was working, and again, now it seems to not be working.
0:38
And most of us have dealt with that before, so it seems to be kind of working at the moment.
0:44
So, just as a heads-up for whatever you may want to go do in the building concerning water,
0:49
to be aware that it may or may not work at the moment that you try.
0:53
But, I'm glad that the reason that our church exists is for the supremacy of Christ and not for the beauty of a building.
1:03
As we have issues like this, it's just my constant recitation in my head,
1:09
but we have no debt, but we have no debt, but we have no debt, and we praise God for that.
1:14
So, it is a blessing to us.
1:16
Our text for today is Mark chapter 14, verses 66 through 72.
1:20
And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came,
1:28
and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said,
1:31
You also are with the Nazarene Jesus.
1:33
But he denied it, saying, I neither know nor understand what you mean.
1:38
And he went out into the gateway, and the rooster crowed.
1:41
And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders,
1:44
This man is one of them.
1:46
But again, he denied it.
1:48
And after a little while, the bystanders again said to Peter,
1:52
Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.
1:55
But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear,
1:58
I do not know this man of whom you speak.
2:01
And immediately the rooster crowed a second time.
2:05
And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him,
2:07
Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.
2:11
And he broke down and wept.
2:14
This is God's word to us, written for his glory and our good.
2:20
We would all do well to listen to it in order to obey its promises,
2:24
excuse me, believe its promises, and obey its commands.
2:29
Let's pray together.
2:30
Father, we again praise you for this morning and the opportunity for us to come together as a church.
2:40
A people called out of the world and called together for your mission.
2:46
We thank you, Father, that you have not left us alone,
2:48
but you have given to us a helper, the Spirit,
2:51
and you have given us your word,
2:52
the tool that he employs in our lives to shape us and change us for your glory.
2:59
And so we would ask this day that you would do this,
3:01
that he would be alive and active in my speaking and in all of our hearing.
3:07
That the things that we hear today will not merely be taken into our minds,
3:12
but they will be applied to our hearts.
3:14
That all of us will be changed from one degree of glory to another.
3:18
That we will leave this place proclaiming the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness
3:25
and into his marvelous light.
3:27
We pray this in Christ's name.
3:30
Amen.
3:32
So in our text this morning,
3:34
Mark records for us the failure of Peter following Jesus' arrest,
3:38
just as Jesus had predicted.
3:42
But before we address Peter's failure, and we will,
3:44
let's recall together the failure of our author of the Gospel of Mark.
3:49
I know that many of you weren't with us when we first began working through this Gospel account.
3:54
And in the very first sermon that we worked through together,
3:59
I told you a little bit about who Mark is.
4:02
And he's an interesting character,
4:04
and there's much for us to learn and to be encouraged by his life.
4:09
So with me, if you will, just for a brief break from Mark,
4:13
you can mark it, no pun intended, once again,
4:16
turn to the book of Acts,
4:18
and we're going to begin in chapter 12.
4:22
Apparently when I'm tired I speak in puns.
4:33
We did this once before, so I'm going to do it rather quickly,
4:36
but I just want you to see this together.
4:38
I believe that Mark's desire to record what Peter did is fueled by his own experience.
4:48
So Acts chapter 12, verses 1 through 5.
4:51
About that time, Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.
4:57
He killed James, the brother of John, with a sword.
5:00
And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
5:04
This was during the days of unleavened bread.
5:05
And when he had seized him, he put him in prison,
5:08
delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him,
5:11
intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.
5:14
So Peter was kept in prison,
5:15
but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
5:20
So Peter is imprisoned by his faith.
5:22
The persecution of the churches is really on the upswing at this time.
5:26
And as the church is praying for him,
5:28
Peter is delivered from prison by an angel later there in Acts 12.
5:35
Peter recognizes it was an angel.
5:38
Verse 12 records this for us of the Lord that led him out of prison.
5:41
And it says, verse 12,
5:43
When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John,
5:48
whose other name was Mark,
5:51
where many were gathered together and were praying.
5:54
And so this is the Mark that wrote the gospel of Mark,
5:58
or we could call him John Mark if we would like.
6:01
I'm Joseph Nathan, if you don't know that.
6:04
And I go by Nathan.
6:05
So here we have John Mark going by Mark in many cases.
6:09
I'll go a little further in that chapter to verse 25.
6:11
And Barnabas and Saul, soon to be Paul, or was Paul at this time,
6:18
returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service,
6:21
bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
6:25
So they picked up a companion in their travels,
6:27
and this is John Mark,
6:29
who's now traveling with Barnabas and Saul or Paul.
6:33
Acts 3, verses 1-5.
6:35
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers,
6:40
Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger,
6:43
Lucius of Cyrene,
6:45
Menaion, a lifelong friend of Herod the Tetrarch,
6:47
and Saul.
6:48
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting,
6:50
the Holy Spirit said,
6:51
Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
6:55
Then after fasting and praying,
6:57
they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
7:00
So being sent out by the Holy Spirit,
7:01
they went down to Seleucia,
7:03
and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
7:05
When they arrived at Salamis,
7:08
they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogue of the Jews,
7:11
and they had John to assist them.
7:14
So Barnabas and Paul set aside for a work to the Gentiles.
7:18
Of course, they still visited the Jewish synagogues and preached to the Jews,
7:21
and John Mark is with them.
7:25
Now in verse 13 of chapter 13,
7:27
in case you lost where we were at.
7:30
Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos
7:34
and came to Perga in Pamphylia.
7:37
And John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
7:42
So John Mark goes with them on this journey,
7:43
the beginning of it,
7:45
and as they're about to go on to another stage,
7:47
he leaves and returns to Jerusalem.
7:49
In the account so far,
7:50
that's all we know.
7:51
Just that he left.
7:52
We don't know why he left,
7:54
but we find out later the very reason.
7:56
Turn a couple of chapters over to Acts chapter 15.
7:59
And after some days,
8:07
Paul said to Barnabas,
8:10
Let us return and visit the brothers in every city
8:12
where we proclaim the word of the Lord
8:13
and see how they are.
8:15
This is Acts 15.37 now.
8:18
Now Barnabas wanted to take with them
8:20
John called Mark.
8:23
He's actually the cousin of Barnabas.
8:25
But Paul thought best not to take with them
8:28
one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia
8:31
and had not gone with them to the work.
8:34
And there arose a sharp disagreement
8:36
so that they separated from each other.
8:38
Barnabas took Mark with him
8:40
and sailed away to Cyprus.
8:42
And this is when Paul picks up Silas in his journey.
8:45
So there becomes a division between Paul and Barnabas
8:48
because Barnabas really wanted John and Mark
8:52
to go with them on the journey.
8:53
But Paul said, No, he abandoned us.
8:56
He bailed out on us.
8:59
This man was fickle.
9:01
Likely due to fear of the advance
9:03
and the preaching of the gospel
9:04
and the things that were happening in his time,
9:06
he went back to Jerusalem.
9:08
And Paul wants nothing to do with him
9:10
at this point in his journey.
9:12
Barnabas so convinced,
9:14
Barnabas seems to be the second chance guy,
9:17
John Mark is now ready,
9:18
that he goes with him.
9:20
We don't know exactly where
9:22
Barnabas disappears from the New Testament narrative
9:24
for two years,
9:25
with nothing about the timeline,
9:27
for two whole years after this incident.
9:29
John Mark disappears from the biblical text
9:32
for ten years.
9:34
But he does reappear.
9:36
He reemerges.
9:38
Now after some time,
9:39
Paul is in prison for preaching the gospel.
9:42
And during his first imprisonment,
9:44
he writes his letter to the Ephesians,
9:46
his letter to the Colossians,
9:48
the letter to Philemon,
9:50
and to the Philippians.
9:51
And we see in two of those,
9:53
particularly in Colossians and in Philemon,
9:57
Paul's companion in prison
9:59
is none other than John Mark.
10:03
So they, by some circumstance,
10:05
have rejoined one another
10:06
and either been thrown in prison together
10:08
or found each other once again in prison.
10:13
In Paul's second imprisonment,
10:15
one of his last letters he wrote,
10:17
2 Timothy 4.11,
10:20
he writes this,
10:21
Do your best to come to me soon,
10:23
writing to Timothy,
10:24
for Demas, in love with his present world,
10:26
has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
10:29
Crescens has gone to Galatia.
10:30
Titus to Dalmatia.
10:32
Luke alone is with me.
10:34
And then the instruction he gives to Timothy
10:36
is get Mark.
10:38
This is John Mark he's referring to.
10:40
Get Mark and bring him with you,
10:42
for he is very useful to me for ministry.
10:47
So we see this young disciple
10:49
that's taken on this journey to begin with
10:51
and bails out on the Gospel mission,
10:55
likely for fear of what would happen to him,
10:58
now re-engaged in Gospel ministry
11:01
in a major way as a fellow servant
11:04
along with Paul,
11:05
later pinning for us
11:07
the Gospel account that we've so richly enjoyed
11:10
over this past year.
11:13
The redemption that is pictured in this
11:16
that has to be pieced together,
11:17
but yet we find it all the same.
11:22
Sinners and recovering sinners
11:24
are the only type of people that there are.
11:30
So there's much space for us this day
11:33
in even considering Peter's denials.
11:37
We think about Mark's life,
11:38
and later Peter's life,
11:41
the things that will be accomplished
11:43
by God through him
11:45
to reflect upon our own lives
11:46
and the ways in which we've failed our Lord.
11:50
The ways we've turned our back on Him.
11:52
The ways that we have denied Him
11:55
to receive joy and encouragement
11:59
from the lives of Mark and of Peter.
12:03
Now in last week's text,
12:05
Mark places Peter in the courtyard of the house
12:09
where Jesus' trial is occurring
12:11
on the night of His arrest.
12:13
And if you'll look back in Mark 14,
12:16
verse 53 and 54 reads,
12:19
And they led Jesus to the high priest.
12:21
And all the chief priests and the elders
12:23
and the scribes came together.
12:26
And Peter had followed Him at a distance
12:29
right into the courtyard of the high priest.
12:32
And He was sitting with the guards
12:34
and warming Himself at the fire.
12:38
Now the other disciples,
12:39
it would seem,
12:39
have already fled at this time.
12:41
We have no record,
12:42
no account of them.
12:43
Although John's Gospel account
12:45
does tell us that the way
12:47
that Peter got into the courtyard
12:48
is that John was known
12:50
by the family of the high priest.
12:52
So it's likely that John went along
12:54
and said,
12:55
Hey, it's okay to let him in.
12:56
But it would seem that John's already
12:58
left the scene at this point.
13:00
The disciples fleeing is a fulfillment
13:02
of Zechariah 13.7,
13:04
the last half anyway,
13:07
which Jesus quotes in Mark 14.7,
13:10
Strike the shepherd and the sheep
13:12
will be scattered.
13:15
So we find Peter having followed at a distance,
13:20
having been so bold in the Garden of Gethsemane
13:22
that he strikes the ear off of one of the temple guard,
13:27
rebuked by Jesus for it.
13:28
And then he follows from afar,
13:31
wants to be near what's going on.
13:34
And this trial is taking place
13:35
in the home of the high priest,
13:38
which is Caiaphas in this year.
13:41
Likely also the home of Annas,
13:43
also called the high priest.
13:45
He is Caiaphas' father-in-law.
13:48
That title never passed away from someone
13:50
once they served in the role of high priest.
13:53
And Annas is kind of like
13:55
the godfather of the Sanhedrin.
13:57
He has been appointing high priest.
13:59
People do what Annas says.
14:01
So there's been a trial before Annas,
14:03
which is not recorded in Mark.
14:05
And then he's been delivered from Annas,
14:07
Jesus has,
14:08
to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.
14:11
This would be 70 men plus the one
14:14
being the high priest.
14:15
71 men that hold this sort of trial,
14:20
this perversion of justice.
14:23
We talked about last week.
14:24
We saw the contradiction,
14:27
the juxtaposition of the false witnesses
14:29
against Jesus' faithful witness
14:31
to who he was.
14:33
And this is where we find,
14:34
as this is happening upstairs
14:37
in one of the apartments
14:38
of this massive home,
14:40
Peter's sitting in the courtyard,
14:41
warming himself with the temple guard
14:43
around a fire.
14:45
John MacArthur says of Peter,
14:47
he was caught between fear and faith.
14:50
He was caught between love and terror,
14:53
between courage and cowardice.
14:57
Certainly, Peter loved our Lord
14:59
and followed Him because of that.
15:02
There's some zeal in Peter
15:04
that we certainly should admire,
15:06
that he even was willing
15:08
to follow that far,
15:09
that he was willing to sit outside
15:11
in the very home,
15:13
enter through a gate,
15:14
and be in that place.
15:17
But yet he fails.
15:21
Now remember who we're talking about,
15:23
this Peter.
15:24
Back in Mark 8,
15:26
beginning of verse 27,
15:29
Mark records,
15:29
And Jesus went on with His disciples
15:31
to the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
15:33
And on the way,
15:34
He asked His disciples,
15:36
Who do people say that I am?
15:38
And they told Him,
15:39
John the Baptist.
15:40
And others say,
15:42
Elijah.
15:43
And others,
15:44
one of the prophets.
15:45
And He asked them,
15:47
But who do you say that I am?
15:49
And it's Peter that answers Him,
15:51
You are the Christ.
15:54
And in saying that,
15:55
that phrase that He's saying,
15:56
He is saying that you are the Son of God.
16:00
You are the Messiah,
16:01
the One that has come to take away
16:03
the sins of the world.
16:05
Our prophet, our priest,
16:06
and our King.
16:07
You are the Christ.
16:11
Matthew's account adds,
16:13
And Jesus answers him,
16:14
Blessed are you,
16:16
Simon Barjona,
16:17
for flesh and blood
16:18
has not revealed this to you,
16:19
but my Father,
16:21
who is in heaven.
16:22
So,
16:22
God Himself has revealed this truth
16:24
to Peter.
16:25
And I tell you,
16:26
you are Peter.
16:27
And on this rock,
16:28
I will build my church.
16:30
And the gates of hell
16:31
shall not prevail against it.
16:32
The truth that Jesus is the Christ,
16:35
is the rock that He'll build His church on.
16:38
He says,
16:38
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
16:40
and whenever you bind on earth,
16:41
shall be bound in heaven.
16:42
And whenever you loose on earth,
16:44
shall be loose in heaven.
16:46
This is the Peter
16:47
that we're talking about.
16:49
And so,
16:50
set against the backdrop
16:51
of Peter's bold proclamation
16:52
of Jesus as the Christ,
16:54
Mark tells us of his failure
16:55
on the night of Jesus' arrest.
16:58
Charles Spurgeon wrote of this text,
17:00
This fall of Peter
17:02
is doubtless intended
17:04
to be a lesson
17:05
to the whole church of Christ.
17:08
It is recorded for our learning
17:10
that we may be kept
17:11
from like sorrowful overthrow.
17:14
It is a beacon
17:15
mercifully set up in Scripture
17:17
to prevent others
17:19
making shipwreck.
17:22
So we must pay attention.
17:24
It's important that we stop and look,
17:25
not just as a mark in Peter's life,
17:28
but what are we meant
17:29
to learn and to understand?
17:30
We must understand
17:31
by this record.
17:33
And to do that,
17:34
we must examine the condition
17:35
of Peter's heart,
17:36
which ultimately led
17:37
to these denials.
17:39
You see,
17:40
there must have been something
17:40
at work in him
17:41
to cause him to betray his Lord, right?
17:44
He wasn't on top of the mountain
17:45
and suddenly in the valley
17:47
there was something happening in him
17:49
and we have record
17:50
and account of what that was.
17:53
Remember that Peter had given up
17:54
everything to follow Christ.
17:57
He had sacrificed everything
17:58
and he'd been with him now
18:00
three plus years
18:01
bringing him to this point.
18:03
What is happening
18:04
in the heart of Peter
18:06
that would cause him
18:07
to deny Christ
18:08
at this time?
18:10
There are at least three things
18:12
we should observe.
18:13
At least.
18:14
There may be more,
18:14
but at least three things
18:15
we should observe
18:15
that we're going to do this morning
18:17
lest we also fail
18:19
in this way.
18:21
Firstly,
18:22
and primarily,
18:25
Peter was prideful.
18:27
Peter was self-sufficient
18:29
in his own mind.
18:32
None of us really are self-sufficient.
18:34
All of us are sustained
18:35
by the power of God.
18:38
All of us are very, very, very finite
18:41
and so desperately in need
18:43
of an infinite God.
18:46
Peter didn't recognize
18:47
this was the case.
18:48
He was prideful.
18:50
Mark 14, 26-31 says,
18:55
And when they had sung a hymn,
18:56
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
18:58
And Jesus said to them,
19:00
You will all fall away.
19:03
For it is written,
19:03
this is from Zechariah,
19:05
I will strike the shepherd
19:06
and the sheep will be scattered.
19:08
But after I am raised up,
19:09
I will go before you to Galilee.
19:11
Peter said to him,
19:12
listen to the words
19:13
that Peter responds to Christ.
19:16
Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
19:18
by His own admission,
19:19
has said,
19:19
You will all fall away.
19:21
This will come to pass.
19:23
And Peter responds to Him,
19:25
Even though they all fall away,
19:27
I will not.
19:30
And Jesus said to him,
19:32
Truly, I tell you,
19:34
this very night before the rooster crows twice,
19:37
you will deny Me three times.
19:38
But He said emphatically,
19:42
If I must die with you,
19:44
I will not deny you.
19:47
And they all said the same.
19:50
You see the pride there.
19:52
Jesus is telling them
19:53
the very thing that will come to pass.
19:56
And He's having nothing of it.
19:57
Not believing His Lord
19:58
and the prediction that He's giving to Him.
20:00
This man has seen Jesus accomplish
20:03
amazing things.
20:05
He has established His authority
20:07
over sickness.
20:07
He's established His authority over death.
20:09
He's raised people from the dead.
20:11
He's calmed storms with His voice.
20:13
He has forgiven sin.
20:16
Amazing.
20:16
Amazing things.
20:17
And He says a simple thing to Him.
20:19
And He is so full of Himself.
20:22
He is so arrogant
20:23
and so self-sufficient
20:25
that He says,
20:27
I will not.
20:29
I will not deny you.
20:33
Are we not this way so often?
20:35
Proverbs 16.
20:36
Proverbs 16.
20:36
18 says,
20:37
Pride goes before destruction
20:39
and a haughty spirit
20:41
before a fall.
20:44
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10.
20:46
12,
20:46
Therefore let anyone
20:47
who thinks that he stands
20:50
take heed
20:52
lest he fall.
20:54
Beloved,
20:55
we are always
20:56
at all times
20:58
in desperate need
21:00
of the intervening work of God
21:03
on our behalf.
21:04
There are certainly
21:05
times in our life
21:06
that this is
21:07
exclamart.
21:10
I just made that word up.
21:11
There is an exclamation mark
21:13
placed on this
21:14
at times in our lives.
21:15
Let me give you a full sentence
21:16
to explain what I meant
21:17
by exclamart.
21:21
Punctuated,
21:21
I think is what I was trying to say.
21:22
God's providence
21:26
reigns at all times.
21:29
Moments in our life
21:30
were made very,
21:31
very aware of this.
21:33
Daniel Gentry,
21:34
a member of our church,
21:35
and I have been
21:35
looking toward
21:36
and praying for
21:38
the possibility
21:38
of our church
21:39
doing some work
21:40
on the east coast
21:41
of Nicaragua.
21:43
The west coast
21:44
of Nicaragua
21:44
is the developed
21:46
part of Nicaragua.
21:47
You can get a direct flight
21:48
on Delta
21:48
from the Atlanta airport
21:50
straight into
21:50
the Managua airport.
21:52
From there,
21:53
the normal way
21:54
that you get
21:54
to the east coast
21:55
is you hop on another flight
21:57
to a town called Bluefields.
21:58
Then you get on a water taxi
22:00
that takes you to
22:01
the place that we were going,
22:02
a place called Pearl Lagoon.
22:04
We decided instead,
22:07
we had a trip of four,
22:08
there were four of us
22:08
planning on going
22:09
at the time we did this,
22:10
that it would be cool
22:11
to rent a truck
22:13
and drive
22:14
to the town of Pearl Lagoon.
22:16
We just wanted to have
22:17
some flexibility,
22:18
not be so dependent
22:19
on other people
22:20
to give us rides.
22:21
We really wanted to be able
22:22
to check out the area.
22:24
Our trip of four people
22:25
quickly became a trip
22:26
of two people.
22:27
So Daniel and I
22:28
flew into
22:29
the Managua airport.
22:31
Our flight was very,
22:33
very late.
22:33
We just happened to catch
22:35
the Alamo Rent-A-Car
22:36
attendant
22:37
as she was locking up.
22:39
She was the only employee
22:41
that spoke any English
22:42
for Alamo Rent-A-Car
22:44
and Daniel and I
22:45
spoke no Spanish.
22:46
We stayed across the street
22:49
at the Best Western
22:50
that night
22:52
and the next day
22:54
we struck out
22:55
across Nicaragua.
22:56
A couple of white guys
22:57
from Georgia
22:58
who don't speak
22:58
any Spanish
22:59
in a rented truck.
23:02
And I was never
23:04
not aware
23:05
of God's providence
23:06
in that trip,
23:07
that we made it.
23:09
The Alamo Rent-A-Car
23:11
attendant told us
23:12
that her mother
23:14
lived in Bluefields
23:15
and that she had never
23:16
heard of a road
23:17
that went to the place
23:18
where we were going.
23:20
There were no maps.
23:21
We couldn't buy a map
23:22
in the place.
23:23
And yet,
23:24
God sustained us.
23:26
God brought back
23:27
some of my high school
23:28
Spanish
23:29
to ask for directions.
23:33
Brought in this town
23:35
that seemed to be
23:35
the dead end
23:36
of our trip.
23:37
Brought into
23:38
in a bizarre way
23:40
one English speaker
23:42
who used to live
23:43
in Roswell, Georgia.
23:45
And he gave us
23:46
directions to where
23:47
we were going.
23:49
We are always,
23:50
the point I'm making,
23:51
we are always,
23:51
always, always
23:52
in need of him.
23:54
Sometimes we know it
23:55
more than others,
23:55
but we are always
23:56
in need.
23:57
We never should
23:58
be prideful.
24:00
I will not,
24:02
by the grace of God,
24:04
should be the cry
24:04
of our hearts.
24:07
So Peter was prideful.
24:08
Secondly,
24:09
Peter failed
24:11
to heed the word
24:11
of God.
24:12
This was fueled
24:13
by that very pride,
24:14
but Peter failed
24:15
to heed
24:16
the word
24:17
of God.
24:19
Jesus had said
24:20
to him,
24:20
this thing
24:21
will come
24:22
to pass.
24:23
And he doesn't
24:24
respond with a,
24:25
how do I prevent
24:26
that?
24:27
You told me a thing
24:28
that I will do,
24:29
but how can I
24:30
not do this?
24:32
While Peter's
24:33
denials validate
24:34
the prophetic
24:35
words of Christ,
24:36
they certainly serve
24:37
in that regard,
24:39
prophecy does serve
24:41
as a warning.
24:43
We shouldn't just say,
24:43
oh, well that's
24:44
going to happen.
24:45
Prophecy is a warning.
24:47
And Peter would have
24:47
done very well
24:48
to pay attention
24:49
to it.
24:50
When Jonah preached
24:51
the word of God
24:52
to the Ninevites,
24:54
Jonah 3.4 says,
24:55
yet forty days
24:56
and Nineveh
24:57
shall be overthrown.
24:59
This was the message
24:59
that God had given
25:00
to Jonah
25:01
to preach
25:02
to the whole city
25:03
of Nineveh.
25:04
What did they do?
25:05
They repented.
25:06
They turned
25:07
from their sin
25:08
and they repented.
25:10
And Jonah 3.10
25:11
records,
25:12
when God saw
25:13
what they did,
25:14
how they turned
25:15
from their evil way,
25:17
God relented
25:17
of the disaster
25:18
that He had said
25:18
He would do to them
25:19
and He did not do it.
25:22
So,
25:23
brings a prophecy
25:24
that they respond
25:25
appropriately to
25:27
and He doesn't do
25:28
the thing
25:29
that He said
25:29
He would do.
25:31
Proverbs 6.23
25:33
says,
25:34
For the commandment
25:35
is a lamp
25:36
and the teaching
25:38
a light.
25:39
And the reproofs
25:40
of discipline
25:41
are the way
25:42
of life.
25:44
Our last memory verse,
25:46
children,
25:47
I'll leave you away.
25:48
2 Timothy 3.16
25:49
All Scripture
25:51
is breathed out
25:52
by God
25:53
and profitable
25:54
for teaching,
25:55
for reproof,
25:56
for correction,
25:57
and for training
25:58
in righteousness.
26:00
Verse 17
26:01
goes on to say
26:02
that the man of God
26:03
may be complete,
26:04
equipped
26:05
for every good work.
26:08
Peter would have done well
26:09
to listen to the words
26:10
of Christ,
26:11
to have paid attention
26:12
to the warning
26:13
that He was giving to him
26:15
and we do the same.
26:17
The Scriptures contain
26:18
many warnings.
26:20
Let's look at just a few.
26:21
What do you say?
26:22
Turn with me
26:23
to the book of Hebrews.
26:24
I'm going to show you
26:24
four warnings
26:25
just from the book of Hebrews.
26:26
Hebrews.
26:26
Hebrews.
26:28
Hebrews.
26:30
We don't know
26:33
with certainty
26:33
who wrote
26:34
the book of Hebrews,
26:35
but we do know
26:35
that it was written
26:36
to Jewish Christians
26:38
who were tempted
26:39
to deny Christ.
26:42
In their minds,
26:43
they had added Jesus
26:44
to their religion.
26:46
They're still worshipping
26:47
the same God,
26:48
but they had included Jesus
26:50
into this equation.
26:52
We're following Him.
26:54
And things had gotten
26:55
tough for them.
26:56
The Jews weren't being
26:58
persecuted the way they were.
26:59
The Jews weren't being
27:00
thrown in prison.
27:01
The Jews weren't having
27:01
their property plundered.
27:03
The Jews weren't being killed.
27:05
So it's tempting
27:05
to go back to Judaism
27:08
to deny Christ in this way.
27:11
So let's just look
27:12
at a few together.
27:13
Hebrews 2.1
27:14
The danger of drifting.
27:17
The writer of Hebrews says,
27:19
Therefore we must pay
27:20
much closer attention
27:23
to what we have heard
27:25
lest we drift away from it.
27:28
We must pay attention
27:30
to the gospel preached.
27:31
We must know
27:32
the word of God.
27:34
Because if we don't know,
27:35
we won't know
27:36
when we drift.
27:37
It will be imperceivable.
27:38
Like a ship without an anchor
27:39
and suddenly we're out
27:40
in the dangerous sea.
27:44
Secondly,
27:44
Hebrews 3.12
27:45
The danger of not
27:48
entering into rest,
27:49
the rest of the Lord.
27:51
Take care, brothers,
27:53
lest there be in any of you
27:55
an evil, unbelieving heart
27:57
leading you to fall away
27:58
from the living God.
28:01
Be careful, he's saying.
28:03
Be careful that you don't exist
28:05
within the church
28:06
thinking that you have a good heart
28:09
when in fact you have
28:10
an evil heart
28:11
that's leading you away from God
28:13
and not toward Him.
28:14
Be careful that you're not
28:15
just going through
28:16
some religious practice
28:18
thinking that somehow
28:19
that's credited to you
28:20
as righteousness.
28:22
But that you need
28:23
the righteousness of Christ.
28:27
Thirdly,
28:28
Hebrews 6.11-12
28:30
The danger of not going on
28:33
to maturity.
28:34
Of staying a child
28:36
in the faith.
28:38
And we desire each one of you
28:41
to show the same earnestness
28:43
to have the full assurance of hope
28:45
until the end.
28:47
So that you may not be sluggish
28:48
but imitators of those
28:49
who through faith and patience
28:51
inherit the promises.
28:54
Don't be deceived
28:55
thinking that you can just
28:56
stay nominal.
28:58
That it's okay to make
29:00
a profession of faith in Christ
29:01
and never grow up in Him.
29:05
Those who are born again
29:06
grow up in Jesus.
29:09
We become mature.
29:12
There's a danger in not going on
29:14
to maturity.
29:15
Fourthly and lastly,
29:17
Hebrews 10.26-27
29:19
The danger of willful sin.
29:25
For if we go on sinning deliberately
29:27
after receiving the knowledge
29:29
of the truth,
29:30
there no longer remains
29:32
a sacrifice for sins
29:34
but a fearful expectation
29:36
of judgment
29:37
and a fury of fire
29:38
that will consume the adversaries.
29:40
What he's saying is
29:41
if you are a believer,
29:43
you claim to be a believer
29:45
and you continue to sin deliberately,
29:47
you are denying Christ
29:49
in that activity.
29:51
You are saying
29:51
there's not a sacrifice for sin,
29:53
there's only a judgment
29:54
that will come.
29:56
Heed these warnings, beloved.
29:57
We must heed the warnings
29:59
of the Scripture.
30:01
There are so many places,
30:03
not just Hebrews,
30:05
so many places,
30:06
where we are warned against
30:08
and warned against
30:09
and warned against.
30:12
The Christian life is not easy.
30:14
Our flesh is at war
30:17
with our spirit.
30:19
If we are truly believers,
30:20
our flesh does not win.
30:22
The general trajectory of our life
30:24
will be towards holiness
30:25
and away from worldliness.
30:28
This must be true
30:29
in our lives, beloved.
30:30
If it's not true in yours,
30:32
you must question your faith.
30:36
Test yourselves.
30:37
I never want to say any of this
30:39
to cause those who are Christians
30:40
to ever falter in their belief.
30:43
The Scriptures exhort us
30:44
to test ourselves.
30:47
Are you in the faith?
30:49
Can you with confidence say,
30:51
my heart is changed.
30:53
There are things happening in my life
30:55
that would not be happening
30:56
if it were not for the work of Christ.
31:00
Jesus is purging sin from my life.
31:04
And I still sin,
31:06
but it breaks my heart.
31:09
I sympathize.
31:12
I want to be there with Peter
31:14
when he breaks down and weeps
31:15
and go, I know.
31:16
Oh, I know.
31:17
Me too.
31:19
Oh, how I fail.
31:21
But test yourself
31:22
that you know you're in the faith.
31:24
That you know that God is working you
31:26
towards holiness.
31:30
So many these days want to have
31:32
the promises of the Scripture,
31:34
but they do not want to obey
31:36
its commands.
31:38
I flubbed it up this morning.
31:40
I keep goofing things up.
31:41
It's okay.
31:43
But most mornings when we study together
31:46
after reading the text,
31:47
I say to you,
31:47
this is God's Word to us.
31:49
It's written for His glory
31:50
and our good.
31:52
We would know that,
31:53
that it's for our good.
31:55
We would all do well to listen to it
31:56
in order to believe its promises
31:58
and obey its commands.
32:01
Peter was prideful.
32:03
Peter did not listen to,
32:05
he did not heed the Word of God.
32:09
If he had, thirdly,
32:11
he would have prepared himself.
32:13
He would have prepared himself
32:14
for the thing that was going to come,
32:15
the battle,
32:16
as he was going to walk following Jesus,
32:19
caught between these two places,
32:20
his love for Christ
32:21
and his fear of what might happen to him.
32:23
And so thirdly,
32:25
Peter failed to prepare himself
32:27
for battle.
32:30
Turn back to Mark 14, verse 32.
32:46
After the Last Supper,
32:48
Jesus and the disciples leave,
32:50
verse 32,
32:50
and they went to a place called Gethsemane.
32:52
The Garden of Gethsemane.
32:55
This is the night of Jesus' rest,
32:57
and He says to His disciples,
32:58
Sit here while I pray.
33:01
And He took with them Peter and James and John
33:03
and began to be greatly distressed
33:05
and troubled.
33:07
And He said to them,
33:09
My soul is very sorrowful,
33:11
even to death.
33:13
Remain here and watch.
33:16
And going a little farther,
33:17
He fell on the ground and prayed
33:18
that if it were possible,
33:20
the hour might pass from Him.
33:22
And He said,
33:22
Abba, Father,
33:23
all things are possible for You.
33:24
Remove this cup from Me,
33:26
yet not what I will,
33:27
but what You will.
33:29
And He came and found them sleeping.
33:32
And He said to Peter,
33:34
Simon,
33:34
are you asleep?
33:36
Could you not watch one hour?
33:40
Watch and pray
33:42
that you may not enter into temptation.
33:45
The Spirit indeed is willing,
33:49
but the flesh is weak.
33:51
Now, who's He talking to specifically?
33:53
To Peter, right?
33:54
The one who He had said,
33:55
You will deny.
33:56
All of you will be scattered.
33:58
And Peter says,
33:58
I will not.
33:59
He says,
33:59
You will deny Me three times.
34:01
He says,
34:01
Oh no, I won't.
34:03
And then He's sleeping in the garden.
34:06
And Jesus' exhortation to Him
34:08
is that He should be watching and praying
34:09
so that He won't enter into temptation
34:12
because His Spirit's willing.
34:14
Oh, I will.
34:14
I won't.
34:15
I won't.
34:15
I won't.
34:16
But His flesh is weak.
34:19
Verse 39,
34:20
And again He, Jesus,
34:22
went away and prayed,
34:23
saying the same words.
34:25
And again He came and found them sleeping,
34:27
for their eyes were very heavy,
34:29
and they did not know what to answer Him.
34:32
And He came the third time and said to them,
34:34
Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?
34:38
It is enough.
34:40
The hour has come.
34:42
Peter,
34:44
had he rightly understood
34:46
what Jesus had said,
34:49
if He had heeded His warning,
34:50
had he not been so prideful,
34:52
he would have been preparing himself
34:54
for the battle that he was about to face.
34:56
And he failed to do so.
35:00
And so we see in our text,
35:01
and I know that today was kind of a wander
35:03
from the text,
35:03
and we'll come back to it for a moment,
35:06
the three denials.
35:07
And they all happen right there together.
35:09
A servant girl recognizes Him.
35:12
Right?
35:12
She again points out the fact,
35:15
no, I'm pretty sure,
35:16
telling some bystanders,
35:18
pretty sure this guy was with Jesus.
35:22
And notice that he's left the gate now.
35:24
He's away from the temple guard.
35:25
He's gone outside of the gate.
35:27
Likely still lingering outside,
35:29
waiting to see what will happen to Christ.
35:31
And his responses get more and more severe.
35:36
Leave me alone about it.
35:38
Leave me alone.
35:38
I do not know this man.
35:40
I am not to be associated with him.
35:44
And then Peter remembers
35:45
what Jesus has said to him,
35:47
and he breaks down,
35:48
and he weeps.
35:51
That next day,
35:52
the same,
35:52
the morning,
35:53
this is happening.
35:54
It's the reason that the rooster's crowing.
35:58
It's morning now.
35:59
There's going to be some other trials.
36:01
Another trial before the Jews,
36:03
just really for show.
36:05
Some trials,
36:05
three of them in front of the Gentiles.
36:07
We'll get into those things
36:08
in the coming weeks.
36:09
And then Jesus will be crucified
36:10
that afternoon.
36:11
And this is the way in which
36:14
the closing remarks for Peter
36:18
before our Lord is crucified.
36:22
Do you sympathize with Him?
36:25
Can you feel His pain in that?
36:27
Ways in which you yourself
36:29
have denied Christ.
36:32
Opportunity to speak on His behalf
36:34
in this world as an ambassador for Him
36:36
that you shrank away from.
36:38
Like Him,
36:39
you cowered.
36:40
I don't know Him.
36:42
I don't know Him.
36:43
Don't think me strange.
36:44
Don't think me weird.
36:45
Don't hate me for my faith.
36:49
I sympathize with Him.
36:52
And praise God,
36:53
Peter is restored.
36:57
Praise God,
36:57
Peter is restored.
36:59
Turn to John 21.
37:03
After Jesus' resurrection,
37:05
He comes and He has breakfast
37:07
with seven of the apostles
37:08
by the Sea of Tiberias.
37:10
John 21,
37:14
beginning in verse 15,
37:15
says,
37:16
When they had finished breakfast,
37:17
Jesus said to Simon Peter,
37:19
Simon, son of John,
37:22
do you love Me more than these?
37:24
He said to him,
37:25
Yes, Lord,
37:26
you know that I love you.
37:28
He said to him,
37:29
Feed My lambs.
37:31
He said to him a second time,
37:32
Simon, son of John,
37:33
do you love Me?
37:34
He said to him,
37:35
Yes, Lord,
37:35
you know that I love you.
37:37
He said to him,
37:39
Tend My sheep.
37:41
He said to him the third time,
37:42
Simon, son of John,
37:44
do you love Me?
37:45
Peter was grieved
37:46
because he had said to him
37:47
the third time,
37:48
Do you love Me?
37:49
And he said to him,
37:50
Lord,
37:51
you know everything.
37:52
You know that I love you.
37:55
Jesus said to him,
37:56
Feed My sheep.
37:58
Truly, truly,
37:59
I say to you,
38:00
when you were young,
38:00
you used to dress yourself
38:01
and walk wherever you wanted.
38:03
But when you were old,
38:04
you will stretch out your hands
38:05
and another will dress you
38:07
and carry you
38:08
where you do not want to go.
38:11
This he said to show
38:11
by what kind of death
38:12
he was to glorify God.
38:13
And after saying this,
38:14
he said to him,
38:15
Follow Me.
38:18
And you note that Jesus gives Peter
38:19
three opportunities
38:20
to affirm his love for Him.
38:22
Just as he has denied Him three times,
38:24
he takes them through a process
38:25
of saying to Him,
38:27
I love you.
38:28
I love you.
38:29
I love you.
38:31
And then Jesus tells him
38:32
exactly what's going to happen to him.
38:33
That He is going to be crucified
38:34
like our Lord was.
38:36
He Himself will die
38:38
such a terrible death.
38:39
The thing that He was so afraid of
38:42
on this night
38:43
where He betrays Christ,
38:45
where He denies Him these three times,
38:47
Jesus tells him,
38:47
this is the way that you will also die.
38:51
And in spite of that,
38:53
Peter would soon speak boldly
38:55
to the very men
38:56
who had judged Jesus.
38:59
Like a lion he speaks to them.
39:02
Turn one more time.
39:03
Acts chapter 4.
39:04
It's the last place I'll have you.
39:05
And we're wrapping up here.
39:13
I haven't banged on a lectern once.
39:15
I promise you I would do that.
39:17
Wake up.
39:18
Acts chapter 4.
39:19
Acts chapter 4.
39:21
Verse 5.
39:22
It's after the day of Pentecost.
39:24
On the next day,
39:24
their rulers and elders and scribes
39:27
gathered together in Jerusalem
39:29
with Annas the high priest
39:31
and Caiaphas and John and Alexander,
39:34
all who were of the high priestly family.
39:36
So all of those five and six,
39:38
all of those people are Sanhedrin.
39:40
It's the same people that judge
39:41
perverted justice in their judgment of Jesus.
39:45
Verse 7.
39:46
And when they had set them in the midst,
39:47
they inquired,
39:49
By what power or by what name
39:51
do you do this?
39:54
Then Peter,
39:55
filled with the Holy Spirit,
39:59
the source of his great boldness,
40:01
said to them,
40:02
Rulers of the people and elders,
40:05
if we are being examined today
40:07
concerning a good deed
40:08
done to a crippled man,
40:10
by what means this man has been healed,
40:12
let it be known to all of you
40:14
and to all the people of Israel
40:16
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
40:20
whom you crucified,
40:22
whom God raised from the dead,
40:24
by him this man is standing before you well.
40:28
You notice that he calls him Jesus of Nazareth?
40:30
The very accusation made to him.
40:32
Weren't you with Jesus the Nazarene?
40:36
Here he says,
40:37
you're darn right I was.
40:38
Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
40:40
Verse 11,
40:42
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you,
40:45
the builders,
40:46
which has become the cornerstone,
40:47
and there is salvation in no one else,
40:50
for there is no other name under heaven
40:52
given among men,
40:53
by which we must be saved.
40:57
The boldness as he's filled with the Spirit,
41:00
the way in which his life has been redeemed,
41:04
such a low point,
41:06
now brought just a couple of months later
41:10
to such a high point in his service to our King.
41:14
And I think many of us find ourselves
41:16
in the place of Peter,
41:18
having seen that in some way,
41:21
in some regard,
41:22
our life does not reflect our love
41:25
and devotion to our Lord.
41:27
We serve things that are so shabby,
41:30
so worthless,
41:32
so fading away,
41:33
when we have Christ.
41:36
In so many varied ways,
41:38
we deny Him.
41:40
Let me encourage you,
41:41
if you are found in Him,
41:43
Paul writes in Philippians 1.6,
41:45
And I am sure of this,
41:46
that He who began a good work in you
41:49
will bring it to completion
41:50
at the day of Jesus Christ.
41:54
Praise God.
41:55
Romans 8,
41:55
There is therefore now no condemnation
41:57
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
42:00
And so the call to us is to repent
42:03
and believe.
42:05
That is,
42:05
to take up the precious truths of the Gospel
42:08
as we find ourselves failing Jesus
42:10
in all of the ways that we do.
42:12
And to praise Him,
42:13
that it is His righteousness
42:15
that's been given to us.
42:16
Counted to our credit.
42:18
When God sees us,
42:20
He sees Christ.
42:23
And beloved,
42:24
this should be motivating to us.
42:25
This should move us
42:26
to share Him with the world.
42:29
This should move us
42:30
to rearrange our lives,
42:32
to give up our self-determination
42:33
to experience,
42:35
proclaim,
42:36
and display Him
42:36
in all things
42:37
to all peoples.
42:39
Let's pray together.