Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
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Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
Mark 14:26-31, 66-72; Peter, Jesus, and Resolutions
Kevin Teasley December 29, 2024 Faith Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL
Bulletin
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If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Mark, chapter 14. I'm going to be reading from that in just a minute. And you know it's the end of a new year, we look forward to a new year and you know we're thinking about resolutions perhaps, and I think that there's probably no more famous resolution in the Bible than the one I'm going to read about here, from Peter. No doubt many of you will be familiar with his words and his bold statements that he makes to Jesus, and I thought it would be appropriate for us to look at that this morning as we look forward to a new year. So may you hear God's word. Mark, chapter 14. I'm going to begin in verse 26. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives and Jesus said to them you will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered, but after I am raised up I will go before you to Galilee. Peter said to him Even though they all fall away, I will not. And Jesus said to him Truly I tell you this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. But he emphatically said If I must die with you. I will not deny you. And they all said the same thing. I'm going to skip now to verse 66.
Speaker 2:And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said you also were with the Nazarene Jesus. But he denied it, saying I neither know you, I neither know nor understand what you mean. And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed and the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders this man is one of them. But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean. But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear I do not know this man of whom you speak. And immediately the rooster crowed a second time and Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. And he broke down and he wept the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of God, it stands forever. Let's pray that the Lord will bless the teaching of his word. Father, I pray that your spirit would work now, by and with your word. Would you open up our eyes, that We've already sung this this morning. Would you give us the ears to hear, the eyes to see? I pray that we would see Jesus, that you would reveal his beauty and glory to us, even now, as we look at your word. We pray that in the name of Christ, amen.
Speaker 2:Well, as we're thinking about resolutions, there was a man named Samuel Johnson who lived back in the 18th century. He was a major literary figure in the 18th century. He was a poet, a playwright, a preacher, essayist. Wikipedia says this about him is that he was arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history, and what I have here is some excerpts from his journal. As he resolved, if you will, to shake off slothfulness and idleness and this is what he writes in his journal 1738, this was September 7th he says O Lord, enable me to redeem the time which I have spent in sloth. A few years later, in 1753, he said I resolve to rise early to lose no time. Two years after that, he writes this in 1755. He says I will once again resolve to form a scheme of life that will enable me to rise early, to form a scheme of life that will enable me to rise early. On Easter Eve in 1757, two years later from that entry, he says Almighty God, look down on me with mercy, look down with mercy upon me, depraved with vain imaginations, and enable me to shake off sloth. In 1759, on Easter day, he writes this give me grace to break the chain of evil custom in my life. Enable me to shake off idleness and sloth. You're seeing the pattern.
Speaker 2:September 18th, 1716, he resolves to reclaim his imagination and to rise early and to oppose laziness. 1764, april 21st, he says my purpose is, from this time forward, to reject or expel sensual images and idle thoughts and to provide some useful amusement for leisure time and to avoid idleness. To rise early. He writes that. Then the next day, at, oddly enough, 3 am, he writes this in his journal deliver me, lord, from the distress of vain terror and, again, loose thoughts and idleness. The following fall, he resolves on this is his 55th birthday to rise early, no later than six, if I can.
Speaker 2:The following Easter, again writing at 3 am, he writes this he says I resolve to rise at eight. And he continues he says I propose to rise at eight because, though I shall not yet rise early, it will still be much earlier than I now rise. Oh, y'all aren't even. You're not even there yet. He says for I often lie until two, four years later, 1769, and he writes this after midnight. He says I'm not yet in a state to form any more resolutions. I purpose and hope to rise at eight and, by degrees, at six. And he goes on and on. This really does continue. I could read this for another five minutes at least. I'll just jump to the end, where it's in 1781. He's now 71 years old and he writes I will not despair. My hope is to rise at eight or sooner and to avoid idleness.
Speaker 2:Anybody been there and done that? I know that soil, I know that movie. I've watched it a lot in my life and I love the realism of those journal entries. That's real life, that's where we all live, and especially this time of year, as we look back at the past year and we think I mean, I'm telling you, I look at 2024 and it did not go like I thought, it did not go as I hoped, and maybe that's how you feel, and so now I'm ready and looking forward to 2025, this new slate, this new beginning, but I love the realism here, one of the things I'm even thinking about.
Speaker 2:I want to read a good biography in 2025, like a good biography of a Christian that can inspire me in my walk with Christ in ministry but I don't want to read a biography that doesn't tell the whole truth about the person. I don't want to read a biography that tells me how this person is always obedient and never disobedient. I don't want to read about somebody who was always righteous and never unrighteous. I don't want to read about somebody who just had his act together and never struggled, didn't ever struggle with sin or anything like that. I remember hearing a very prominent evangelical preacher stand on stage with his wife and just say my wife and I have not missed a quiet time in over 20 years. I don't know if that's even really true, but even if it's true, I don't think it's helpful. I really don't. I don't want to read a biography about Spurgeon that doesn't talk about how he struggled with depression. I don't want to read a biography about Millard Barnhouse that doesn't talk about how he struggled with anger and had a sharp tongue and how he often hurt people. I don't want to read a biography about Martin Luther that doesn't talk about the sin he struggled with and the places that he fell. I don't want to read a biography about G Campbell Morgan that doesn't talk about how deeply he feared man and feared rejection and would do anything to be loved.
Speaker 2:I want to read something that's real, and one of the many things I love about the Bible is its realism. There's you know this, there's only one hero in the Bible and it's Jesus. You even just can just look at the hall of fame of faith in Hebrews 11 and you just scroll down that list of these heroes of the faith. They weren't great people. You got David, who's known as a man after God's own heart, but you know what he did? He committed adultery and then orchestrated the murder of his friend so that he could be with his wife. That's not a great guy.
Speaker 2:Abraham was a liar. On two different occasions Abraham lied about who his wife was and then was willing to sell her to a royal king in order to spare his life. He did that twice. That is not a hero. That is not an elder candidate. I guarantee that none of the elders on the session here lied two times about their wife in order to spare their lives. Right, that's who Abraham was.
Speaker 2:Samson he's listed in the Hall of Fame of Faith. All he did was wreck his life. Totally right, he had a tendency to run around with immoral women. Eli, who's listed in the Hall of Fame of Faith he's like the worst father ever. Neither one of his sons were faithful to the covenant. Jacob is sneaky and cunning and crafty and he lies to get the blessing from his father. Judah again in the Hall of Fame of Faith, slept with his daughter-in-law, rahab. Okay, Rahab hid the spies. That's a positive thing. But how does she go down in history as a prostitute? They're all in there.
Speaker 2:You know the apostle Paul. He's not in the hall of fame of faith, but the apostle Paul, right, the apostle Paul. He doesn't get specific about what his struggle was, but listen, this is at the end of his life. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy here's a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am the worst, I am the chief. Now we may sit here and think Paul, you're being too hard on yourself, but that's his assessment of himself, that of all the sinners that have ever lived. You run down the list, he says I'm at the top of them all.
Speaker 2:Okay, I love the realism of scripture and what it just really points out. And one of the things all those people in the hall of fame of faith, they weren't great guys, they were not heroes, they would not be good elder candidates. God is not ashamed of them. Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brother, because God loves to justify the ungodly, he loves to redeem, he loves to give grace to failures. That's what we see, and Peter is an amazing example of that. And we got to make sure that, with Peter, we don't romanticize what he did. We don't sentimentalize it. Okay, because Jesus I mean Peter on Jesus' greatest night of need, he's going to the cross, the night that he is going to be betrayed and that he is going to go to the cross, peter denies him not once, not twice, but three times. And he doesn't just deny him, but he denies him with curse words, with cursing on the night of his death.
Speaker 2:And even if you think about Peter, this is kind of crazy to think about. Listen, if Peter has, just think about where he is in his spiritual, his walk with Christ, he has just finished a three-year 12-man discipleship program and Jesus is his D group leader. You with me on this. Like, if Kevin Teasley is your pastor, you're going to be kind of jacked up and you're going to have issues. If Jason Sterling is your pastor, you're going to be kind of jacked up and you're going to have issues. If Jason Sterling is your pastor, you're going to kind of be a little jacked up and there's going to be some issues. I don't care who it is, but three years 12-person discipleship, men's intensive group, god is your pastor. And let me tell you, if there's ever a moment when Peter would be on his A game, it's when he's graduating from this program and he completely falls on his face. The graduation hadn't even happened yet and he's completely failed and he's blown it. And he's blown it bad.
Speaker 2:And I just want to point this out today Because God, jesus, loves to show grace to failures, and we got this story of Peter falling on his face and where he found grace, so that you and I can know where to go and where we can find grace when we fall on our face. And so we're going to look at this. We're going to look at bold promises and pride. That's my first point. We're going to look, secondly, at a crushing failure and brokenness. We're going to look at bold promises and pride. That's my first point. We're going to look, secondly, at a crushing failure and brokenness. We're going to look at an incredible restoration and the grace that restores us, and so I want us to look first of all at these bold promises and I want us to look and think a minute about Peter's heart. We're going to look at the good and the bad of Peter here.
Speaker 2:And Peter says in verse 29, he says listen, the rest of these guys, they might be bums, but I'm with you, jesus. They may all fall away, but I will not leave you and I love it. Jesus looks at him and says man, I, you know, appreciate your enthusiasm, but by the time the rooster crows three times, you're going to deny me three times. And I actually kind of like this Maybe I shouldn't but Peter doubles down on Jesus right here, like he goes listen, even if I have to die with you, jesus, I will not fall away. And so here's, let me just stop there. Have you ever said that? Have you ever made a resolution like that?
Speaker 2:I remember at 20 years old I was a brand new Christian. I became a Christian through RUF at Ole Miss my junior year and I went on this mission trip. We went on a mission trip and it was a time where God really did work in my life and it was really, as I kind of think, it was kind of maybe one of the high water marks of my life. I was a college minister for 19 years. One of the things I missed so much about the college campus is just the zeal and the enthusiasm and the excitement of college students. Okay, I really do miss that and I was one of them at 20 years old and I stand up in front of the church and I'm kind of giving my testimony of what all God talked to me.
Speaker 2:And I'm going to tell you what I said a lot of really big things and I'll never forget. It's like a core memory for me now. This was this was back in 1990, and I'll never forget Dr John Burge. He was an elder in the church. He came up to me after the, after my message, and he came up to me and he shook my hand and he said Kevin, I appreciate what you said and he said, but you said a lot of big things up there and I just want you to know. I'm going to be praying for you and I'm going to tell you, standing here now, a lot of years later, I think I broke every one of those things I said. I don't think I kept any of them. If you want to know the truth and I mean I think about, as a campus minister, all the bold, confident things college students would tell me about how this time is going to be different I actually had a student.
Speaker 2:I was talking with her in the Wake Forest cafeteria and we're talking to her about a walk and she starts to cry as we're talking and you know, as I'm trying to find out, why are you upset? And she's really wrestling with assurance of salvation and she's like Kevin, I don't know if I'm really a Christian and so I ask her I say well, why would you think you're a Christian in the first place? And what she does is she goes. Well, when I was eight years old, I walked down an aisle and I prayed a prayer, and then she says this to me she goes up actually, I've rededicated my life like six times and she got her Bible out and she said look, I wrote.
Speaker 2:I wrote the dates down every day and she shows this to me and we have a fantastic conversation about the gospel and about justification by faith, and I, you know, one of the things I remember saying to her is listen until you stop looking at what you're doing and looking at Jesus. We're gonna have to have this conversation all the time, right? Because her real concern was I don't know if I really meant it and I said you know, there's a great line in the hymn that says I dare not trust the sweetest frame. I don't trust the sweetest frame of mind and what it was doing. She was trusting her zeal, her excitement, the strength of her commitment, and I said we got to stop trusting in that and we got to start trusting in Jesus. All that's a different sermon, though.
Speaker 2:What I do remember thinking, when she showed me those six things and she's telling me about how, six different times, she rededicated her life, what I wanted to do was jump on her about her bad theology, but you me tell you what I didn't, because this is what I think. I think the angels in heaven rejoiced and Jesus rejoiced every time that sophomore girl wanted to follow Jesus and was trying to give her life to him. And it's just easy. When you think about your failures and my failures and resolutions that are broken, the real easy application would be for me to stand up here and say, all right, here's the application. Don't make arrogant resolutions. But I'm not going to tell you that today because, the more I think about it, I think you ought to go ahead. You ought to make resolutions. I'm not going to tell you that today Because, the more I think about it, I think you ought to go ahead. You ought to make resolutions. I'm going to make resolutions Because resolutions don't reflect your ability, but they reflect your heart.
Speaker 2:They're signs of life. It's a sign that the Spirit's working in your life. So go ahead, resolve, make promises, make commitments, rededicate your life. So go ahead, resolve, make promises, make commitments, rededicate your life to Christ, because it's a sign that God's working in your life. You know, sometimes I come to I've done this a lot of times. On New Year's Eve I've made a resolution to not make resolutions, but I think it makes God glad when we do it.
Speaker 2:Ji Packer in his book Knowing God if you hadn't read Knowing God, put that on your list of resolutions for 2025. But JI Packer in his book Knowing God. He says this. He says people who know God attempt great things for God. I love that. See, when you stopped making resolutions, it's because you stopped knowing him, it's because you stopped walking with him. And here's the kind of flip side of that Maybe not flip side, but it's related If you, the day that you stop breaking them, is the day you stop needing Jesus and his grace. Because I'm telling you, peter's in a beautiful place now. He is ready to receive right Because he has been broken. I mean he is at the end of it. I is ready to receive right Because he has been broken. I mean he is at the end of it. I'll come to that in just a second. I just want to say, before we get down on Peter, at least he's doing something, at least he's there. Everybody else is already headed for the hills. Right, they bolted, but at least he's there.
Speaker 2:I mentioned at the beginning that I don't want to read a biography that doesn't tell some of the dirt or the struggle. But I tell you also, I don't want to read a biography that doesn't tell me about the victories and the faithfulness, even if it's just a little Right. At least Peter's in the arena, All right and his problem is and now? So that's kind of the good part about Peter. I love his heart here and I think there's something really good about that there, and I think Jesus didn't stop loving Peter when he was making these bold promises that Jesus knew that he was going to break in a nanosecond right, he never stopped loving Peter in the midst of this.
Speaker 2:The problem wasn't his desire to follow Jesus, the problem was his pride, and I don't know how the story would have ended up if Peter would. You know, when Jesus says you're all going to fall away, and I don't know what he should have said is you're right, jesus, help me? But that's not what he says. But the point there Peter is prideful. He's not aware of how weak he really is, and that's the biggest lesson that any of us can learn from our broken promises and our broken. We are weak, weak, weak people. If you think that you're standing firm, the Apostle Paul says you better be careful lest you fall. This is so much like Kevin Teasley and it's probably like a lot of you here as well.
Speaker 2:Peter's philosophy when he got confronted with sin is when in doubt, don't repent. Right, peter is a perfect example of never in doubt, often wrong. Sin is when in doubt, don't repent, right? You know, peter is a perfect example of never in doubt. Often wrong, but never in doubt, and that's who Peter is. And the greatest sin, or maybe the first greatest sin that you and I can commit is the arrogant presumption that you can't. There is no sin that you're not capable of. And if you don't know that about yourself, you don't know your heart. You don't understand what the Bible teaches about the human heart. I heard one preacher put it this way the only thing that's kept you from being like the worst person, this Adolf Hitler type person, is God's gracious, the circumstances of your life and the gracious ordering of those circumstances in your life, because there's nothing we're not capable of, right, were it not for grace. There goes, I right, there I go.
Speaker 2:Captain Ismay of the Titanic bragged and boasted about how the Titanic could not sink, and we all know how that story turned out. Um, it's not Peter's desire that led him to the downfall, it was his pride. Um, it was his pride. We're just so quick to overestimate ourselves, um, and when we do that, we're underestimating our need for God's grace. And so Peter is prideful and it leads to his downfall. And look at what he says in verse 72, 71. He says he began to invoke a curse on himself and swear I do not know this man of whom you speak. And then it says, immediately the rooster crowed a second time and Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him Before the rooster crows twice, you'll deny me three times and he broke down. It says and he broke down and he wept.
Speaker 2:Here's my question for you this morning. Here's my question for you this morning. Has your heart ever become so maybe this is the condition of your heart right now has your heart ever become so hard that your sin doesn't bother you? Your response to your sin can show you whether you're walking with Christ or not. There's been a lot of times in my life where my heart was so hard that my sin didn't bother me. Peter should have wept because what he did, what he did, was wrong. But his tears were good. His tears were enough because they were tears of repentance. It was bad enough that he cursed, it was bad enough that he swore. But Luke tells us this in his account of this and can you imagine being in the middle of your sin and looking up and seeing the face of Jesus.
Speaker 2:Peter never got over this, I'm telling you. The man walked with a limp after this moment. Peter died this day. Peter got over this. I'm telling you. The man walked with a limp after this moment. Peter died. This day Peter got over himself. Um, he was never the same after this. He was undone. He was, you know, he was where Isaiah was.
Speaker 2:When Isaiah gets a glimpse of the throne room of God and and God and his splendor and the holiness of God, and he goes whoa I'm? I'm undone, I'm ruined. I'm a man of unclean lips. I live among a people of like. That's where Peter is at this moment and it's exactly where Jesus wants him all the time. Like, where Peter is right now is where God wants every one of us all the time. And here's what's crazy about it is, you know, we have these. I'm assuming you're like me here. I have these moments in my life where I'm really broken by my sin and humbled to the dust, like Peter, moved to tears, and it's so easy to be like the next day. I'm glad I got that brokenness out of the way so now I can get on living this victorious, awesome Christian life Right and when it's actually the so opposite of that, because where I was right here is where God wants me in you all the time, because at that moment Peter was holding on to Jesus like he never was before. See, it's kind of that and that's where God wants us always. It's kind of. For that reason, your best days are really your worst days, because those are the days you think you've got it going on and you don't really need Jesus and his grace. And your worst days are actually your best days because those are the days that you're really cl and his grace. And your worst days are actually your best days because those are the days that you're really clinging to Jesus and you're like don't you leave me, jesus, right, I know those moments too, and that's where Peter is right here in this moment. We're just kind of constantly trying to get out of the place. God wants us and Peter's broken here. But where I want to take us now is, you know he clearly gives to the right place. I want us to look at Jesus's welcome right here, and I love this.
Speaker 2:There's a scene in Mark, chapter 16, where the Marys they're going to the tomb because they're going to anoint Jesus's body. Okay, and they show up at the tomb and they're going to the tomb because they're going to anoint Jesus's body, okay. And they show up at the tomb and um, and they're having this conversation, like, well, how are we going to roll the stone away? It's so big, we can't do it. But they show up at the tomb and the tomb has already been rolled away and there's a man sitting in a white robe right there to the right of the tomb, and he says to them he goes Jesus. I'm just going to go ahead and read it, you know. He says don't be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen, but he's not here.
Speaker 2:But go and tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee, and there you will see him, just as he told you. And remember the passage we read earlier. He says y'all are all going to fall away. And there you will see him, just as he told you. And remember the passage we read earlier. He says y'all are all going to fall away. And there's a prophecy. He says that the sheep are going to scatter, the shepherd's going to get struck. But after you all fall away, jesus says meet me in Galilee.
Speaker 2:And now this man reminds the two Marys about that, but he says Peter's name and y'all. You've got to see the awesomeness of that and the intentionality of that. Jesus knows exactly what he's doing. He knows exactly what Peter must be feeling right now because he's fallen on his face right. He knows how upset Peter is about this. And so he says you go tell the disciples and you make sure Peter knows Y'all. That's awesome and I love to think about the joy that Peter must have felt when he was like. He said my name. He singled me out Because at that moment Peter knew Jesus was welcoming him back and I bet he was the first one on that beach to meet Jesus at Galilee. He knew Jesus was welcoming him back and he went right there.
Speaker 2:And one of the great things, just when you think about that and here's maybe a point of application if you don't know the welcome of Jesus like that, then you'll never repent of your sin, you'll never confess your sin if you don't understand that kind of welcome and that kind of embrace for failures from Jesus. It's kind of like the parable of the prodigal son. What it says is that, while the son was still a long way off, what does the father do? He jumps off that porch and he starts running for the son before he ever has a chance to utter the words and A one of the really cool things about that if he saw that son while he was still a far way off. You know what that meant Is the father was watching, longing for the son to come home. He couldn't. He never stopped loving his son and somewhere in the recesses of that son's mind and heart he knew his father loved him. Otherwise he'd have never come back. Right, and that's the kind of love that's waiting for you. That's the kind of love that was waiting for Peter when he failed Jesus the night he was crucified.
Speaker 2:And when Jesus restores Peter Mark doesn't talk about that, but John writes about it in his gospel. And you know, peter denies Jesus three times. And so what does Jesus do? Restores him three times, and every time he's kind of restoring Jesus. And the third time Peter broke, he understood what Jesus was doing. He broke down in a web. The third time that Jesus restored him he says do you love me? And Peter's like you know I love you, jesus. And he says well, feed my sheep. Do you love me? You know I love you, lord. Well, feed my sheep.
Speaker 2:And here's the cool thing I think about this is I'm just kind of landing this plane is have you ever thought about how we even know this story about Peter's denial of Jesus? Because, you know, nobody was there, like the gospel, they weren't there. We only know this story because Peter told somebody. Peter told us right, peter wanted to make sure that we knew about his failure, his greatest failure, and how he found grace with Jesus, so that we would all know what to do with our failures. And that is run to Jesus. He's feeding his sheep, he's strengthening his brothers as Jesus and he said listen. He says listen, peter, satan wants to sift you like wheat, but I've prayed for you and after you've returned, peter, strengthen your brothers. And here we are, a couple thousand years later and Peter's strengthening his brothers, telling us about his great failure, so that we'll know what to do with our failure.
Speaker 2:And those broken resolutions, those broken promises that you and I make. Run to Jesus. Jesus mentions this prophecy, and the reason that Jesus can welcome us is, you know he says this you're going to all fall away, for the prophecy says that the sheep are going to scatter and the shepherd is going to be struck says that the sheep are going to scatter and the shepherd is going to be struck. The reason that Jesus can welcome us back is because he was struck. His body was broken, his blood was poured out so that yours and mine doesn't have to be. That's the reason that he can welcome you back and that's what we're celebrating when we come to the Lord's table here in just a few moments. It's a table for people who have made resolutions and broken them, but it's also for people and I'm going to tell you I said that Peter's resolution might be the most famous in the Bible, but it's actually not. The most famous resolution in the Bible is Jesus' resolution.
Speaker 2:Theologians like to talk about how, back before the foundation of the world, that there was this inner Trinitarian covenant that the members of the Trinity made with each other, that the Father comes up with this amazing plan of redemption and then the Son is the one who's going to accomplish that redemption, that plan of redemption, and then the son is the one who's going to accomplish that redemption, that plan of redemption, and the Holy Spirit is going to be the one who's going to apply that plan of redemption, you know to his people and it's like they came up well, listen, either they're going to have to be struck down for their sin or we can. And Jesus says I'll do it, I'll do it. And there's that scene where it talks about Jesus, where it says he resolutely set his face like a flint towards Jerusalem. I mean, he was resolved, he was going to be faithful, he was going to do it so that you and I can live bold lives, so that you and I can attempt great things for him, and when we fail, we run right to Him. That's the good news of the gospel.
Speaker 2:Amen, let's pray. Father, there's so much beauty and truth here in this passage and I just pray that some of it's seeping in. I pray that you would help us to see what Peter sees, what Peter saw. Help us to see our pride, help us to be broken over our sin, over the ways that we turn from you, over the many times we've broken promises, but most of all, help us to see the welcome that Jesus has to offer us, and I pray that we would run into his arms, whether it's for the first time this morning or whether it's for the 50th, 100th time this morning. We thank you for the good news of the Gospel and we thank you for our Savior, who receives us In His name. We pray Amen.