SPEAKER_00: This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
SPEAKER_01: Good morning and welcome.
SPEAKER_01: Glad to have you with you.
SPEAKER_01: If you are visiting, have you with us, that is, if you are visiting with us or our guests, we welcome you.
SPEAKER_01: I'm Pastor Jason, and I'd ask that you take your Bible that you have, or if you don't have it, your device, or the copy in the seat back in front of you, and make your way to the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
SPEAKER_01: We've been working our way through Matthew's Gospel, and we are in Matthew chapter 26 this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Going to look at just a few verses beginning in Matthew 26, verse 31.
SPEAKER_01: So we consider a summary, if you will.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus speaking here of what is going to happen in the next few hours of his life.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you might have heard of George Rogers Clark.
SPEAKER_01: He is the less famous version of his brother.
SPEAKER_01: I'll leave that to you to figure out who his brother is.
SPEAKER_01: George Rogers Clark is a Revolutionary War hero.
SPEAKER_01: But his life was filled with failure.
SPEAKER_01: Those two things don't really go together very well, do they?
SPEAKER_01: A Revolutionary War hero and failure.
SPEAKER_01: George Clark was promoted to the rank of general in the Revolutionary Army after several years of brave leadership over a group of ragtag soldiers.
SPEAKER_01: A group that lacked national support and proper financial funding.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, his success was so great that at one point he was labeled the conqueror of the Northwest as he gained control of land for the newly established United States in battles following the Revolutionary War.
SPEAKER_01: He effectively doubled the land size of the original 13 colonies.
SPEAKER_01: But General Clark's life and career were also marred by many failures, most notably financial failures, because he failed to keep proper records.
SPEAKER_01: His loss of records and his resulting financial losses were a challenge to him.
SPEAKER_01: He was a success on the American frontier.
SPEAKER_01: But on the American frontier, it was difficult to keep track of receipts and records of all kinds.
SPEAKER_01: And so ultimately, this conqueror of the Northwest, who once owned all of present-day Clark County in Indiana, was in the end left with only a small cabin on a tiny piece of land and overwhelming debt.
SPEAKER_01: He had overwhelming debt because as he submitted reimbursements to the state of Virginia for all of his military expenses, they said to most of them, sorry, we can't pay those because you don't have the proper documentation.
SPEAKER_01: So he was left destitute, fighting on behalf of his country, successfully, failing.
SPEAKER_01: After his death, the state of Virginia began to reimburse his family for some of his debts, but it was too late for George Rogers Clark.
SPEAKER_01: He had experienced great success in his life, but his life ended being mired in financial failure.
SPEAKER_01: We all experience failure, right?
SPEAKER_01: You might fail as a child riding your bike, falling off the swing set.
SPEAKER_01: You might fail in learning to drive.
SPEAKER_01: You might fail in not stopping at the stop sign, exceeding that posted speed limit.
SPEAKER_01: You might fail in much greater ways.
SPEAKER_01: We all experience failure even in following Jesus, don't we?
SPEAKER_01: We know what we ought to do in following Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We know how we ought to live in following Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But if I asked us to raise our hands, asking how many have sinned, every single hand would go up, wouldn't it?
SPEAKER_01: Because Scripture says all have sinned.
SPEAKER_01: We have all failed.
SPEAKER_01: Some have risked more and failed significantly.
SPEAKER_01: Others have risked less and still failed.
SPEAKER_01: Nevertheless, we we fail over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we fail when we're attempting something that we've never tried before.
SPEAKER_01: We can feel a little bit better about that, right?
SPEAKER_01: I've never done this before.
SPEAKER_01: I'm still learning.
SPEAKER_01: That's our excuse.
SPEAKER_01: And then there are times when we know exactly what we ought to be doing, and we still fail.
SPEAKER_01: Our text in Matthew's gospel this morning illustrates failure in the life of Jesus' twelve disciples.
SPEAKER_01: These few verses preview what would take place in the next few hours of their lives, and it actually is fulfilled in the next few chapters of Matthew.
SPEAKER_01: We've already seen in this chapter Jesus being anointed with an expensive oil that he says is in preparation for his burial.
SPEAKER_01: We've seen Judas's betrayal arrangement, and then the last Passover meal of the Lord's earthly life.
SPEAKER_01: And after that meal, when it's concluded, Jesus leads his disciples out of the upper room, out of the city of Jerusalem proper, through the city walls, to a garden on a large hill called the Mount of Olives.
SPEAKER_01: And on the way there, Jesus spoke to the eleven remaining disciples.
SPEAKER_01: We find what he says in Matthew 26, verse 31.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said to them, You will all fall away because of me this night.
SPEAKER_01: For it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.
SPEAKER_01: But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.
SPEAKER_01: Peter answered him.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, even though everyone else falls away from you, I will never fall away.
SPEAKER_01: Good old Peter.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said to him, Peter, the truth is, I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me.
SPEAKER_01: Three times.
SPEAKER_01: And Peter said to him, Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.
SPEAKER_01: And all the disciples said the same.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: And the Lord bless his word.
SPEAKER_01: There are four key parts to this section.
SPEAKER_01: It's really very simple to see what's going on here.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is speaking about Scripture.
SPEAKER_01: We've read through the book of Zechariah together this summer.
SPEAKER_01: And in chapter 13 of Zechariah, it gives the passage that Jesus is quoting here.
SPEAKER_01: Where God speaks of a shepherd that he will strike in order to drive away sheep, the sheep of his people.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says that will be fulfilled in me tonight.
SPEAKER_01: That takes place, actually, we see it in verse 56.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus then predicts his going before the disciples into Galilee after his resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: That takes place, we see in chapter 28.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says that Peter will deny him three times before mourning.
SPEAKER_01: That happens at the end of this same chapter.
SPEAKER_01: And then the fourth thing that happens here is that all of the disciples deny that anything like that could ever happen.
SPEAKER_01: They would never fail Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And probably if we were there with them, we would be saying the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: Of course we will follow you, even to the end.
SPEAKER_01: We don't gain much from that summary of what will take place in the following few chapters.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to look at each of those in detail as we move throughout the rest of the book.
SPEAKER_01: But there are some details here that have the potential to impact us significantly if we take the time to notice them.
SPEAKER_01: What is unique about this section is that Jesus spoke knowingly about his disciples' future failures.
SPEAKER_01: Don't miss that.
SPEAKER_01: He is speaking very particularly about what is going to happen in his disciples' lives.
SPEAKER_01: They would be thrust into a situation where their reliance on and their trust in Jesus would be put to the ultimate test.
SPEAKER_01: The impending circumstances did test their ability to stand up for what they believed.
SPEAKER_01: And they failed.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've had a horrible, no good, very bad morning, and you need a reset.
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's good because Jesus is here to enable you to turn around and follow him again.
SPEAKER_01: Let's look at this together.
SPEAKER_01: First of all, the first critical detail that we need to understand when we fail is that God is sovereign in his knowledge of our failures.
SPEAKER_01: Notice the future tense here.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says to them in verse 31, you will all fall away.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus knew that in a few hours the disciples would be running away.
SPEAKER_01: He knew that Peter would deny him three times.
SPEAKER_01: It was not a guess.
SPEAKER_01: It's not some hypothesis based off of Peter's prior obedience or lack of obedience.
SPEAKER_01: This is full sovereign knowledge of events that will take place.
SPEAKER_01: This is foreknowledge, divine foreknowledge.
SPEAKER_01: And you know, we're not surprised generally when Jesus says something prophetic.
SPEAKER_01: As church people, we're kind of used to that.
SPEAKER_01: But it has a it has a different feel to it when Jesus speaks prophetically about my failures.
SPEAKER_01: There is an uncomfortable, almost almost guilty kind of feeling when Jesus speaks about my future failings.
SPEAKER_01: That can get a little uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_01: My friends, God's knowledge is more than merely predicting our tendencies.
SPEAKER_01: God isn't up there in heaven looking through the clouds like a peeping tom to discover what we are likely or not likely to do.
SPEAKER_01: He's not seeking to discover our tendencies.
SPEAKER_01: That's Satan, not God.
SPEAKER_01: No, God knows exactly what we will do, when we will do it, and why we will do it, because of his sovereign knowledge of all things.
SPEAKER_01: He knows that our natural tendencies are toward sin and that we can do no good thing apart from him.
SPEAKER_01: He knows that.
SPEAKER_01: God is fully sovereign in his knowledge of everything, even your failures and my failures.
SPEAKER_01: He knows precisely when we will fail.
SPEAKER_01: He knows precisely how we will be tripped up.
SPEAKER_01: And he knows exactly why we give in to temptation.
SPEAKER_01: But don't let that be eerie to you or creepy.
SPEAKER_01: Let it instead amplify God's love and astounding grace to you and me in the midst of our failures and stumblings.
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever thought?
SPEAKER_01: Isn't it amazing that he doesn't wipe me out?
SPEAKER_01: I'm still here.
SPEAKER_01: Don't let God's foreknowledge be strange or uncomfortable to you.
SPEAKER_01: Let it motivate you to see his care and his love for you to cause you to walk more closely with him after he picks you up from your failure.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord's sovereign knowledge of the disciples' failures is bound up here in prophetic scripture.
SPEAKER_01: He says, For it is written, that's Matthew's sign that this comes from God's Old Testament revelation, specifically Zechariah 13, 7.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says that that passage about a shepherd and his sheep being scattered had a greater intention.
SPEAKER_01: And that greater intention was to speak of him as the Messiah, and the scattered sheep are his disciples.
SPEAKER_01: More than predicting what would happen, Jesus says God established reality.
SPEAKER_01: God established that he would strike that shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: God the Father decided that he would strike God the Son, and God the Son would endure the divine striking by which his small flock would be scattered.
SPEAKER_01: So we see that God is sovereign in the events leading up to and including Judas' betrayal, the scattering of the disciples, and even Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: He is sovereign in his knowledge that the disciples will fail.
SPEAKER_01: That doesn't make God responsible for their failure, but it is no surprise to him when they do fail.
SPEAKER_01: And that truth can be a comfort to you or a torment to you.
SPEAKER_01: You can see God as a perennial watchdog who sees everything you do, or like the overprotective parent who can't be pleased, who's always watching and waiting for you to do something that you mess up on.
SPEAKER_01: Well, if you take that view, you're going to end up with a negative view of God that's going to be fed and it's going to grow and it's going to become overwhelming in you.
SPEAKER_01: You will see God as an ogre who does not want you to have fun.
SPEAKER_01: But that's not the point of this text.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, it leads Christ's sheep to comfort.
SPEAKER_01: You can rest in your Savior's control of everything.
SPEAKER_01: We should still be convicted of sin.
SPEAKER_01: We should still be motivated to repentance and confession and trust.
SPEAKER_01: But there is comfort in resting in the greatness of God.
SPEAKER_01: His purpose and his plan to bring about your salvation and my salvation cannot be disrupted by our sinful failures.
SPEAKER_01: We can rest in his purpose and not get too worked up or too fearful when, in the struggle to follow Jesus, we give in to the desires of the flesh.
SPEAKER_01: We must receive conviction, yes.
SPEAKER_01: We must be moved to repentance, yes.
SPEAKER_01: We must confess our sins and be forgiven, yes, because he is faithful to forgive.
SPEAKER_01: We must trust in him and then rest in him because he is sovereign over all of our failures.
SPEAKER_01: The second critical detail reminds us that God is aware of the details of our failures before we ever get there.
SPEAKER_01: This is not just knowledge of them, this is advanced knowledge of them.
SPEAKER_01: God is not so removed from his creation that he only sees the big picture.
SPEAKER_01: No, he's fully aware of every detail.
SPEAKER_01: What does scripture say?
SPEAKER_01: He knows the thoughts of our hearts even before they get to our tongue.
SPEAKER_01: He's fully aware of every detail.
SPEAKER_01: Some say, some theologians mistakenly say that God does not know the future.
SPEAKER_01: That he must wait for things to transpire before he knows them.
SPEAKER_01: I would guess they haven't read this passage.
SPEAKER_01: Because this passage contradicts that.
SPEAKER_01: It says that Jesus knows about the future failures of the disciples, and he even knows the details.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says they will all fall away.
SPEAKER_01: That's a favorite phrase of Matthew's, meaning they're going to stumble, they're going to trip up over something.
SPEAKER_01: He knows that they will be confronted with their attachment to him, and they will run away, they will flee from that attachment because they've been confronted with it, and they are going to abandon Jesus in fear.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus tells Peter, Peter, you're going to deny me.
SPEAKER_01: Three times.
SPEAKER_01: Why did he pick three?
SPEAKER_01: And not only three times, but before mourning.
SPEAKER_01: Not just before morning, but by the time the roosters crowed.
SPEAKER_01: Pretty difficult to get more detailed foreknowledge of Peter's failure than that.
SPEAKER_01: These are incredible details.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel records show that they're fulfilled exactly that way.
SPEAKER_01: God has complete knowledge of all events, and his sovereign knowledge encompasses every eternal detail.
SPEAKER_01: That means, my friends, we can't hide anything from him.
SPEAKER_01: Psalm 44, 21 says, God knows the secrets of the heart.
SPEAKER_01: Psalm 94,11 says God knows the thoughts of human beings.
SPEAKER_01: In Genesis chapter 50, verse 20, Joseph says to his brothers, Listen, you meant everything bad that you did to me for evil.
SPEAKER_01: But God meant it for good, implying God's knowledge of even sinful actions that he employs and uses to accomplish his good will.
SPEAKER_01: So how do we respond to that kind of detailed knowledge about our failures?
SPEAKER_01: Well, we could do nothing.
SPEAKER_01: We could become hermits or monks, so secluded that we neither succeed nor fail because we don't risk anything for Christ.
SPEAKER_01: But that isn't really what God calls us to.
SPEAKER_01: I would suggest no that this detailed knowledge, understanding that God knows everything about me, including the smallest detail of my sinful failures, ought to.
SPEAKER_01: Move us to humility like it did Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel.
SPEAKER_01: In Nebuchadnezzar chapter 4, we read Nebuchadnezzar at the end of his seven-year period of eating and living like a cow, he says, God's dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
SPEAKER_01: All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing.
SPEAKER_01: And he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
SPEAKER_01: And none can stay or hold back his hand and say to him, What have you done?
SPEAKER_01: This is an amazing statement from the most powerful man in existence at his time, who has been so humbled that he says at this time, I can't even come back to God and say, Why did you do that?
SPEAKER_01: He's humbled.
SPEAKER_01: Our knowledge of God's knowledge of our details ought to humble us, like it did Nebuchadnezzar.
SPEAKER_01: We should be motivated to worship because of the cross.
SPEAKER_01: My friends, we've earned death.
SPEAKER_01: We've earned death.
SPEAKER_01: We haven't earned a nice, cushy place in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: God says the wages of sin is death.
SPEAKER_01: We've earned death in hell, and God would be entirely just to send us there instantly.
SPEAKER_01: But because of the cross, because of where Jesus is going in just a few hours, because of his infinite grace, God is patient, desiring everyone to come to repentance.
SPEAKER_01: And amid his patience, he purchased our redemption so that we can be rescued from God's wrath against our sinful desires.
SPEAKER_01: And when we trust in him, that ought to motivate in us then a renewed desire for holiness, to be like him.
SPEAKER_01: It should give us a desire to get back up on our feet.
SPEAKER_01: After having tripped and fallen, get back up and follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Third critical detail that we must learn is that indwelling sin keeps us from being aware of our weaknesses.
SPEAKER_01: I heard somebody say once that Peter had a foot-shaped mouth.
SPEAKER_01: He was always sticking his foot in his mouth.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 33, Peter answered, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: They're all gonna fall away from you.
SPEAKER_01: I'll never do that.
SPEAKER_01: Can't you just imagine that?
SPEAKER_01: Peter taking Jesus aside.
SPEAKER_01: Just Jesus, let me tell you how it's really gonna be.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus, I just imagine this.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus then says, kids, huddle up.
SPEAKER_01: Peter's gonna deny me.
SPEAKER_01: Not once.
SPEAKER_01: Not twice.
SPEAKER_01: But three times.
SPEAKER_01: Notice the repetition here as the cause for stumbling.
SPEAKER_01: In verse 31, Jesus says, You will all fall away from me, or fall away because of me.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus highlights the reason for their failure.
SPEAKER_01: He says, You're going to fall away because of me.
SPEAKER_01: It's your connection to me.
SPEAKER_01: It's your relationship to me.
SPEAKER_01: It's your trust in me that's going to make you uncomfortable in a given situation, and it's going to make you so uncomfortable that you're going to flee.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 33, Peter repeats it.
SPEAKER_01: Though they all fall away because of you, I will never.
SPEAKER_01: Peter is declaring his utter dedication to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He's already told us that he's left everything to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Back in chapter 16, we saw that Peter was the first one to declare the deity of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: He's the leader of the twelve.
SPEAKER_01: And in his mind, in this moment, nothing could ever cause him to stumble regarding Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, think about it.
SPEAKER_01: In just a little bit, he's going to take out a sword and hack off a guy's ear to defend Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Peter probably should have had a certain level of spiritual strength and maturity by this point.
SPEAKER_01: He should know whether Jesus is worth being arrested for or even dying for.
SPEAKER_01: But Peter's problem wasn't what he did know.
SPEAKER_01: Peter's problem was his lack of self-awareness.
SPEAKER_01: And we have the same struggles.
SPEAKER_01: We have an unredeemed body that demands that we feed its desires and we give in to those desires.
SPEAKER_01: We feed it.
SPEAKER_01: See, by faith in Jesus, we are redeemed and made into a new creation through the new birth.
SPEAKER_01: But our bodies await the completion of our salvation when Jesus returns.
SPEAKER_01: So until then, we live in a body, in a house that has sinful demands and desires.
SPEAKER_01: The scriptures put it this way: the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak.
SPEAKER_01: And the closeness of the united nature of our spirits and our bodies often blinds us to our areas of weakness.
SPEAKER_01: Peter boldly argued for his dedication to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But he was blind to his own weaknesses.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus answers and says, Peter, you have some weaknesses, and they're going to be pointed out here shortly.
SPEAKER_01: We all have areas of weakness and desire to which our eyes are closed, don't we?
SPEAKER_01: Our own pride, our own arrogance, our own natural sinfulness keeps us from seeing and acknowledging those things.
SPEAKER_01: And because we can't always see them, we can easily be led to believe that they don't exist.
SPEAKER_01: We all know those people that, you know, have areas of difficulty and struggle that they continually struggle in and they seem to be oblivious to it, and everybody else knows all about it.
SPEAKER_01: Well, guess what?
SPEAKER_01: You do too.
SPEAKER_01: I do too.
SPEAKER_01: Our own sinfulness closes our eyes so that we can't see them.
SPEAKER_01: And here Jesus is acting towards Peter like the prophet Nathan did towards King David.
SPEAKER_01: King David had a great friend named Jonathan.
SPEAKER_01: Jonathan was an immense encouragement to David during a time of great struggle.
SPEAKER_01: But if we all have friends who build us up and only encourage us, then we're going to become more and more oblivious to our weaknesses and our areas of sin.
SPEAKER_01: If all we receive are encouragements and upbuilding without a reality check, then we become more immune to our weaknesses.
SPEAKER_01: Like David, we also need the prophet Nathan, who will confront that sin, confront that blindness, and God can then use that correction to give us sight to correct our sins and strengthen our weaknesses.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is doing that with Peter here.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew doesn't include it, but you can look at the end of the Gospel of John, where Jesus comes back and meets the disciples on the seashore and cooks a breakfast for them and sits down and says to Peter, Peter, do you love me?
SPEAKER_01: Peter, do you love me?
SPEAKER_01: Three times for three times.
SPEAKER_01: We have to understand when we fail, you know, there may be something that I'm not aware of.
SPEAKER_01: It's a reality that we live with.
SPEAKER_01: But there's another element here that we need to consider when we fail, and that is that indwelling sin hinders us not just from knowing about our weaknesses, but from knowing the limits of our strengths.
SPEAKER_01: Peter believed his dedication to Jesus was impervious.
SPEAKER_01: It was a Sherman tank.
SPEAKER_01: Couldn't be destroyed.
SPEAKER_01: It couldn't be knocked down.
SPEAKER_01: He felt his commitment was more significant than all of the other disciples, probably combined, knowing Peter.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus stated that Peter would deny him three times, but Peter responded, Lord, I'm not only not going to deny you, but I'm willing to die for you tonight.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go.
SPEAKER_01: I got my sword.
SPEAKER_01: That brings up an interesting parallel in Matthew's gospel record.
SPEAKER_01: Hold your finger here and turn back to chapter 16.
SPEAKER_01: I've already noted in chapter 16, Peter makes his declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
SPEAKER_01: But if we look down after that, in verse 21 of chapter 16, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.
SPEAKER_01: And Peter took him aside and said, rebukingly, Lord, no.
SPEAKER_01: I forbid it.
SPEAKER_01: This shall never happen to you, using the strongest negation possible in the ancient Greek language.
SPEAKER_01: This shall never happen to you.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus turns to Peter and says, Peter, what happened to you?
SPEAKER_01: I just heard Satan in your voice.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus made it vividly clear to his disciples that he would go to Jerusalem, suffer, and be killed, but Peter inserts himself into that situation and sought to correct what was in his mind a very stupid plan.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, that's not how we take over kingship of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Let me just tell you, that's not how it works.
SPEAKER_01: That's never going to happen.
SPEAKER_01: But notice the end of verse 23.
SPEAKER_01: Peter, you are a hindrance to me.
SPEAKER_01: You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.
SPEAKER_01: We're somewhat familiar with this account.
SPEAKER_01: We remember Peter's declaration of the deity of Christ, and this is familiar to most of us, what Jesus said to Peter.
SPEAKER_01: But we don't often remember what Jesus said next.
SPEAKER_01: Keep reading.
SPEAKER_01: Then Jesus told his disciples listen, if any of you want to come after me, he has to deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
SPEAKER_01: Peter, you're just talking like Satan.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're gonna talk like Satan, you're a hindrance to me.
SPEAKER_01: Because your mind is not on the things of God.
SPEAKER_01: Your mind is on your things.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, you are a strong leader.
SPEAKER_01: You have great strengths in this area, but your strengths right now are going beyond themselves.
SPEAKER_01: And they're leading you into sin.
SPEAKER_01: Peter wasn't denying himself and taking up his cross and following Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He was placing his desires, his plan, and his purpose ahead of God's.
SPEAKER_01: He was not about to let Jesus die.
SPEAKER_01: He was not denying himself and taking up his cross at that moment.
SPEAKER_01: And now in chapter 26, there is an ironic twist.
SPEAKER_01: Peter will once more fail to deny himself and take up his cross.
SPEAKER_01: He will deny Jesus rather than deny himself.
SPEAKER_01: Ouch.
SPEAKER_01: Think about that.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus tells his tells his people, his church.
SPEAKER_01: If anybody wants to follow me, you have to deny yourself and take up your cross.
SPEAKER_01: And we turn around and then deny Jesus instead of denying ourselves.
SPEAKER_01: Not just once does Peter do that, but once more and then once more.
SPEAKER_01: My friends, we are no different.
SPEAKER_01: Before we know it, whatever strengths God has created in us can become arenas for sin.
SPEAKER_01: They're like a petri dish.
SPEAKER_01: It starts growing things.
SPEAKER_01: And sin grows.
SPEAKER_01: Peter thinks his dedication to Jesus is an area of strength.
SPEAKER_01: And so he says, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.
SPEAKER_01: It's the second time that we find Peter correcting Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You're wrong, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Death itself cannot interrupt my dedication.
SPEAKER_01: And that too is ironic because Jesus told Peter and his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him.
SPEAKER_01: And what is the cross?
SPEAKER_01: It's an instrument of death.
SPEAKER_01: So they are all saying they're willing to accept the instrument of death for Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But when the rubber met the road, they didn't deny themselves and take up that instrument of death.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, they fled away.
SPEAKER_01: What they thought had become a strength, had become a weakness.
SPEAKER_01: We're not told if this was an area of pride for them.
SPEAKER_01: It may have been.
SPEAKER_01: But it doesn't have to be pride, does it?
SPEAKER_01: It can be a measured confidence.
SPEAKER_01: It can be a settled conviction that we hold.
SPEAKER_01: Something that becomes an area in which we place too much trust, and sooner or later it leads to failure and it collapses.
SPEAKER_01: I remember one time we were moving cows in the summertime to summer range up in the mountains.
SPEAKER_01: And we had to get horses and gear going in the dark at 3 a.m.
SPEAKER_01: And if you've never been in the mountains and awake at 3 a.m., it's dark.
SPEAKER_01: It's dark.
SPEAKER_01: And that morning, my my boss asked me if I was okay using riding a different horse, a different saddle and different bridle.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, yeah, I don't have a problem with that.
SPEAKER_01: I felt confident.
SPEAKER_01: I felt confident that, yeah, I know how to handle horses.
SPEAKER_01: I know how to handle the gear.
SPEAKER_01: This isn't going to be a problem.
SPEAKER_01: Sure, no, no problem.
SPEAKER_01: So I show up at 3 a.m.
SPEAKER_01: and pull in through the gate, and everybody's already there, and the horses are out of the trailer, and everything is fine.
SPEAKER_01: But I had not accounted properly for the darkness.
SPEAKER_01: It was dark.
SPEAKER_01: So dark that everything had to be done by touch.
SPEAKER_01: And that particular bridle was different.
SPEAKER_01: It was different.
SPEAKER_01: And as I tried to get the bridle over the horse's head and get it arranged right, something's not right here.
SPEAKER_01: I can't figure this all out.
SPEAKER_01: It was just different.
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm sure having less sleep that night factored in, but I still failed.
SPEAKER_01: I was confident I could handle that situation.
SPEAKER_01: But then God brought an aspect that I had not accounted for and showed me, yeah, you don't know all that you think you know.
SPEAKER_01: I've I've designed cabinets for homes.
SPEAKER_01: Worked with homeowners endlessly on details.
SPEAKER_01: Those cabinets have been constructed to spec.
SPEAKER_01: And then I get a call from an installer saying, What did you do?
SPEAKER_01: This doesn't fit.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't go in this spot.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, what's the measurement of the cabinet?
SPEAKER_01: It tells me the measurement of the cabinet.
SPEAKER_01: So I pull out my documents.
SPEAKER_01: No, that's the exact right measurement.
SPEAKER_01: It will fit.
SPEAKER_01: No, it won't fit.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, it will.
SPEAKER_01: What ends up happening?
SPEAKER_01: I go out there, I go out to the job site, and I take a look at it and say, Yeah, that doesn't fit.
SPEAKER_01: What we think are strengths can very quickly become weaknesses.
SPEAKER_01: Sin does that to us.
SPEAKER_01: It makes us feel better than we are, it makes us feel stronger than we are, it makes us feel more confident than we should be.
SPEAKER_01: It makes us feel more equipped than we are.
SPEAKER_01: And we must become more humbly dependent on the Lord for our strength rather than on our own abilities or beliefs in our abilities.
SPEAKER_01: Now there's a final fifth critical element that we must know from this passage.
SPEAKER_01: And that is that Jesus is prepared and ready to restore his sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Now think about that.
SPEAKER_01: He sovereignly knows that we will fail.
SPEAKER_01: He sovereignly knows that there are very specific details that are going to be fulfilled and followed.
SPEAKER_01: He knows all of those details about your failures and my failures.
SPEAKER_01: In some cases, he may even prepare us for those failures.
SPEAKER_01: After I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.
SPEAKER_01: What is he saying?
SPEAKER_01: Saying, listen, you're all gonna run away.
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna flee.
SPEAKER_01: Your connection to me is not gonna be as firm as you think it is.
SPEAKER_01: But I don't want you to get depressed about that because I'm gonna go to Galilee and you're gonna come there too.
SPEAKER_01: And you know what happens in Galilee?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, I want you to go.
SPEAKER_01: And as you're going, I want you to make disciples.
SPEAKER_01: He restores them.
SPEAKER_01: It's not just Peter at the end of John, it's all of them.
SPEAKER_01: Minus Judas.
SPEAKER_01: In Galilee, in Matthew 28 and Acts chapter 1, they're all restored.
SPEAKER_01: They're all brought back and said, Yes, I know you have failed, but I am restoring you, I am forgiving you, and I am sending you back on the mission.
SPEAKER_01: What does that tell us?
SPEAKER_01: Well, it tells us that Jesus' demands are high.
SPEAKER_01: He has high expectations.
SPEAKER_01: It tells us also that failure is sure.
SPEAKER_01: It's going to happen.
SPEAKER_01: But failure is not the end.
SPEAKER_01: Because your Lord is sovereign.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know who needs to hear that this morning, but I know somebody does.
SPEAKER_01: Your failure is not an end.
SPEAKER_01: Now maybe it's that you Have never come to trust in the living Christ as your Savior, the one who redeems you from your sin, and you need to deny yourself and to look only to Christ for your salvation.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's because you've had a horrible, no good, very bad week that's just been giving in to the flesh again and again and again, and you need to come to Jesus and to say, Lord, I failed.
SPEAKER_01: But I trust in your forgiveness.
SPEAKER_01: Because you've promised me that in my unfaithfulness you are always faithful.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus says, Do you love me?
SPEAKER_01: Go.
SPEAKER_01: Do you love me?
SPEAKER_01: Go.
SPEAKER_01: Do you love me?
SPEAKER_01: Go.
SPEAKER_01: You see, stumbling in our faith is not the end.
SPEAKER_01: Through the Holy Spirit, there is strength to obey and not stumble.
SPEAKER_01: But ultimately, until Christ returns and redeems us completely, any obedience, any strength, any commitment is a gift of grace accomplished by God's work in us.
SPEAKER_01: And our not stumbling is only sure when we're walking in the spirit.
SPEAKER_01: But we're walking in the flesh.
SPEAKER_01: Watch where you're stepping.
SPEAKER_01: Because failure's going to come.
SPEAKER_01: But my friends, Jesus is ready to restore you to use for his kingdom and glory.
SPEAKER_01: Recognize your failure, recognize your sin.
SPEAKER_01: Confess it.
SPEAKER_01: Turn in repentance and reliance upon Jesus, your Savior, and trust in his work.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know that Peter failed again?
SPEAKER_01: Peter had to have another Nathan later on.
SPEAKER_01: Another Nathan who was part of the murder of Stephen.
SPEAKER_01: Young man named Paul was watching as people murdered Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
SPEAKER_01: He stood protecting their coats while they threw stones at him.
SPEAKER_01: A little while later, that same man named Paul would confront Peter face to face, saying, Peter, dude, you're wrong.
SPEAKER_01: And what do we see happening?
SPEAKER_01: We see Peter apparently confessing and repenting and again coming along and following Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: My friends, it's a part of life.
SPEAKER_01: Your Savior knows it.
SPEAKER_01: Don't let it become a reason to sin.
SPEAKER_01: Shall we sin that grace may abound?
SPEAKER_01: God forbid! No! But your savior knows.
SPEAKER_01: Your Savior knows you.
SPEAKER_01: And he wants you to come day by day, moment by moment, to become more like him.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_01: Lord Jesus, we are so grateful, amazed really, at your love for us.
SPEAKER_01: It's astounding that you would not simply decide that you're done with us.
SPEAKER_01: And poof, it's over.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, but your love for us is so great that you would restore us, you would go to great lengths to lift us up, to forgive our sin, and to send us on again.
SPEAKER_01: So we gather this morning in awe of who you are, of what you've done for us, and ask that you would grant us a new measure of your spirit, that you would create in us a new heart, that we might go forth from this place today, even more faithful to you, even more loving of you and of what you're doing in us because you first loved us.
SPEAKER_01: We trust, Lord, that as we confess our sins, that you are faithful to forgive, and you are faithful to restore and send us out again.
SPEAKER_01: It's because of you that we pray these things.
SPEAKER_00: That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.