The Men God Chooses and Uses: Peter, Part 2

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the peace of God. We thank you, Lord, for the peace that you give. It goes beyond anything we can comprehend. We thank you, Lord, that the peace that you give is not as the world gives. It's your peace, the God of peace, who calms the restless soul, who causes the heart to rest in you. And we pray that today, as we study your word, those who have restless hearts would come to the realization of Jesus Christ, our Lord, the God of peace. They might experience the peace that comes only from the God of peace, and realize that they at this time are enemies of God and need to become friends of God.

And that only happens through the reception of the great gift of eternal life. And so, God, teach us as we open your word. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Turn in your Bible, if you would, to Luke chapter 6. It is our portion of study as we look, once again, at the life of the apostles. And we are beginning with Peter. He was the first of the apostles.

We saw last week where Matthew's account tells us that he was the first. He was the protoss. He was the leader of the twelve. And as you read through the Gospels, you begin to understand more of this man and how it was he led the twelve apostles. And how God used him in such a way to mold him to become the kind of leader God wanted him to ultimately be. We told you last week that his name was Simon, and God changed his name from Simon to Peter. In John chapter 1, when Christ met him, he said, You are Simon.

You are now going to be called Cephas or Peter or Petros. In other words, you're going to be called the rock. You are the one who hears. That's what Simon means. To become the one who is the rock. And God wanted Peter to understand that he needed to be more than one who heard the word of God, but he needed to do exactly what God's word says. And when you are more than just a hearer of the word, but a doer of the word, you then become solid, firm, steadfast, sound, and strong. And the whole life of Peter is how God takes him from being one who hears the word to one who actually does the word in such a way that he becomes immovable.

He becomes what Christ designed him to be. A rock. He was not rock when Christ met him. He was not rock in the middle of the ministry. And he was not rock at the end of the ministry. He wasn't a rock until the ascension of Christ and the Spirit of God came down upon him. And he was infused with power from on high. And he ultimately became what God wanted him to be. And the story of the apostles is a story of how God uses common man and makes them into the most unbelievable individuals you can ever imagine.

How God restores the soul of a man. How God recreates a man in his image. And how God uses him in a mighty way to accomplish his purposes. God chose these men and God used these men. Just like if you're a believer today, God has chosen you and God wants to use you. And so as we study these 12, we will come to realize how great they were and why they are called the heroes of the faith. And why it is we should look at these men as our heroes.

And look to see how it is we can emulate their character. Because God does a great and mighty work in their lives. And we're beginning with Simon. Simon Peter. That's what he's called in Luke chapter 6. Christ changed his name to Peter because he wants us to understand who he is. And so we told you last week that when Christ referred to him in his carnal state or his sinful state, Christ called him Simon. But when Christ referred to him in his spiritual state, he called him Peter. Now there are times where the writer of the gospel calls him Peter in his sinful state.

But that's not Christ calling him Peter when he acts in a sinful way. When Christ calls him that, he calls him Simon when he acts in a sinful, carnal, fleshy way. He calls him Peter when he works and operates in the Spirit of God in a strong way. And that is throughout the gospels. And you need to understand that because there are times we act like Simon. We act in the flesh. We act doing our own thing. We act in a sinful kind of way. And yet when we act in a strong way, a spiritual way, dependent upon the Spirit of God, then we are like Peter.

We are strong. We are like rocks. And so there's a great parallel for us to understand Peter and what God does in his life. So let me explain to you this man Peter.

I'm going to give you seven words this morning, seven words that will help you understand this man and how God began to shape him. And we won't conclude this morning with our study of Peter. We'll have to wait until the new year in January when we pick up our study again in Luke 6 to talk about the character of this man and what God actually did ultimately in this man's life. But today we want to talk about how God begins to shape him, how God begins to mold him. You must remember this about Peter.

Peter's name is mentioned in the gospels more than any other name except the name of Jesus. As you read the gospels, you realize that nobody speaks in the gospels as much as Peter. And nobody is spoken to by the Lord as much as Peter is spoken to by the Lord. No disciple is so reproved by the Lord than Peter. And yet Peter is the only disciple to reprove the Lord. No disciple ever so boldly confessed Christ as Peter did. But no disciple ever so boldly rejected Christ as Peter did. Peter was one who was praised and blessed by God.

And yet Christ was also the one who called Peter Satan. And so when you begin to study the life of Peter, you begin to realize there's a lot about this man that we can identify with. We can begin to see ourselves in him. And Christ was going to make him into the individual that would be the rock of the church, that would be a foundation for the church to begin in the book of Acts. And Christ always works through men, through willing vessels, who will be used by him. And Peter became that willing vessel.

Peter was a man with great initiative. When you think of leadership, you think of a person who takes the initiative, a person who doesn't have to be told what to do. You can recognize someone who's the leader by the very fact that they aggressively are driven to take the initiative. That was Peter. He was extremely inquisitive. He asked all kinds of questions. In fact, nobody asked more questions than Peter did of the Lord. He was the one who asked questions such as what were the meaning of difficult statements in Matthew chapter 15.

He was the one who asked how many times we must forgive our brother in Matthew chapter 18. He was the one who asked about the fig tree and why it withered. And he was the one who asked about the meaning of end times in Mark chapter 13. And he was the one who asked questions of the risen Christ in John 21. There was no apostle, no individual who asked more questions of our Lord than Peter did, because he wanted to know the answers. He wanted the solution to problems. The only way you're going to get that is to ask questions.

And Peter was the one who took the initiative to ask those questions. He also was the one who took the initiative to answer questions. He was the one always answering our Lord. In Luke chapter 8, I believe it was, yeah, chapter 8 verse number 45, it was Peter who responded to the Lord and he said, who was it who touched my garment? And Peter would be the one who responded to the Lord above the other men. It was in Caesarea Philippi where Christ asked, who do men say that I am? And Peter would tell, well, some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're Elijah, some say you're one of the prophets.

But who do you say that I am? And Peter would say, you're the Christ, son of the living God. He would always blurt out the answers. He was always in the forefront. While the other disciples would process what the question was Christ was asking, Peter would be the first to answer those questions.

Peter was always in the lead. He was always in the forefront. He was always involved with the Christ. In Matthew chapter 14, Christ had sent his men out into the boat, into the Sea of Galilee. He went up into a mountain to pray. And while he was praying, a great storm came upon the sea and the disciples feared for their lives. And Christ came walking to them on that sea. And the disciples were afraid. They thought they had seen a ghost. And Mark's account says that Christ intended to pass by them.

The reason being is because they weren't expecting Jesus to show up. And Christ would speak a word to them. And Peter was the one who said, Lord, if it's you, bid me to come to you. And Peter was the one who got out of the boat and actually walked on the water. And then all of a sudden the waves began to grow. And Peter saw the waves. Peter began to sink. And he cried out, Lord, save me. And Christ reached out and saved him, put him on the boat and said, oh, Peter, why are you of such little faith?

And Peter, there were people like to condemn Peter for the fact that he had little faith and began to sink. But you can recall that none of the other 11 got out of the boat. Peter was the only one who actually got out of the boat and wanted to be involved with what Christ was doing. He was always in the forefront. He was taking the initiative. He was the leader of the 12. He was the one who was in the middle of all the action. Yes, he was the one who had that great rejection. He was the one who denied the Lord blatantly.

But you recall that he was the only one of the 12 who followed the Lord at all. I mean, he was the one at Caiaphas' house. The other 11 were nowhere to be found, but he was there. And yes, he would deny the Lord, but yet none of the other 12 were anywhere to be found. And when it came time to be at the tomb at the resurrection, you'll notice that Peter and John were the first ones there at the empty tomb.

So you begin to see Peter as a man who is aggressive. He's driven. He takes the initiative. That's the kind of material that God can use and mold to be the kind of man that God wants him to be. And Peter had to be tempered. Peter had to be worked with. So let me give you seven words, seven words that give you different scenarios that surround the life of Peter.

Some of them are very familiar to you, but they're words that describe this man and how God used those events to shape and mold the character of a man. The first one is Luke chapter 5, one we've already discovered or one that we've already taught on.

Luke chapter 5, when Christ said to Peter, won't you launch out into the deep, Peter? We're going to go fishing. We're going to go on a fishing expedition. Let down your nets for a catch in verse number 4 of chapter 5. Simon answered and said, Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at your bidding, I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish and their nets began to break. And they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them.

And they came and filled both of the boats so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord. The first event was the event that centered around the realization that Peter was a sinner.

The realization that Peter was a sinner. Listen, if God is going to use you, you must come to grips with the reality that you are a sinner. Peter had to come to that reality. Now, even though he said to his Lord, depart from me, I am a sinful man, Peter had a hard time grasping his unworthy state. A lot like you and I do. We really tend to think we are worthy to be used by God. We have a hard time fighting that. I mean, God has gifted us and God has done a great work in our lives. And we tend to think that we're pretty good at what we do.

And so we think that God is worthy to have us in His kingdom. And yet, we are not worthy. We are unworthy. And Peter would have to come to grips with that. And he was a man who realized that even in that one element of his life, he knew he was good at fishing. He still was unworthy. Because God had to show him that God knew more about fishing than Peter did. You know, a lot of times we think we know more about our business than God knows about our business. We think that we're better at doing things than God is.

And so we go through our work week as if God does not exist in our lives. We go through our work week as practical atheists. We live as if God's not involved in my work. Or God doesn't know about what it is I do every day from nine to five. Oh, but the Lord does know. And the Lord needs you to depend upon Him so that you will realize how unworthy you are, that you cannot make it without the Lord God of the universe in your life. If we're going to become the kind of leaders God wants us to be, the kind of people God wants us to be, we must realize our unworthiness.

We must realize our sinfulness and realize how much we truly need God in every aspect of our lives. In that event, that experience, Peter began to realize what it is he needed to know in order to live under the power of God. Number one was realization.

Number two is revelation. Matthew chapter 16 is the text, a very familiar text to most of us, Matthew chapter 16. It's that great confession of Peter. Remember they're in Caesarea Philippi and Christ asked the question, who do men say that I am? And Peter would respond, well, some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. This is the revelation, the great revelation, because it would be that statement that the church of Jesus Christ would be built upon.

It would be that confession that would build the church of Jesus Christ, that he truly is the son of the living God, that he truly is God in the flesh, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of the world. And it was at this time that Peter came to understand the revelation of Christ and his life, because Christ would go on to say these words, blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Oh, Simon, let me help you understand something.

This is not something you did on your own. This is not something that was revealed, this was something that was revealed to you by my Father who is in heaven. Peter would learn a great lesson on this day, that only through the revelation of God himself could Peter begin to proclaim the message of God. He had to learn that lesson. Peter had to learn the lesson of revelation. He had to learn the lesson that he would have to speak the words of God in order for him to act in the power of God. Christ says, this is not something, Peter, you thought up on your own.

This is not something that was revealed to you by another person. This was revealed to you by God himself. And what is it that Peter said way back in 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21, when Peter said this, but know this first of all that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

See, Peter knew, he learned ultimately that there had to be a revelation from God in order for him to speak the words of God. And he would be one who would be tremendously used by God because on this day there was a revelation given to him about the identity of the Messiah. There was that realization of his own sinfulness, the realization of his unworthiness, but there was a revelation of God in his identity and who he is. And that came from his father who was in heaven. And Peter would be one who would learn to preach the word.

He would be one who would learn to write the word of God. And that would happen because his father in heaven would reveal it to him. And from the realization to the revelation comes the recognition, the recognition that God would use him in ministry. There was the realization of his iniquity. There was the revelation of Christ's identity. And then there was the realization or the recognition of his responsibility that somehow God was going to use him. Listen to what Christ says in Matthew 16, verse 18.

But I say to you, you are Peter Petros. And upon this rock, Petra, a play on the Greek words, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Peter, upon this bedrock, upon this foundation stone will I build my church. Christ says, you are Peter.

You are Petros. You are like a little stone. But upon this rock, Petra, a bedrock, and if you go to Caesarea Philippi today, and those of you going with us to Israel in March, you'll see this. At the base of Mount Hermon is all rock. It's a solid rock. It's huge. It's humongous. And Christ is using that area, that scene to show how it is he was going to build his church. Peter, you're like a little stone. But upon your confession of my identity that I am the Christ, the Son of the living God, upon that confession I will build my church.

The church will be built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the foundation was the confession that Peter made on that day about the identity of Jesus Christ the Messiah. And Christ says to Peter, listen, I'm going to give you, Peter, the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

What is the key to heaven? The key to heaven is the identity of the Messiah. When you preach that identity, when you preach Christ as Lord, as God, as Savior, as Messiah, that's the key that opens the door to heaven. And this was Peter's recognition of his responsibility. That Peter would be given the keys to open the door to the Jewish world and to the Gentile world. Because if you call Acts chapter 2, verses 14 and following, when Peter preaches that first sermon on the day of Pentecost, that there are 3,000 Jews that come into the kingdom.

Why? Because Peter preached the identity of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And they realized that they had crucified their Messiah, and 3,000 Jews were saved on that day because Peter had the key that opens the door to heaven. And that key is the identity of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And Peter held the key to the Gentile world as well. All you got to do is read Acts chapter 10. And that first Gentile convert in the church age was Cornelius.

And he was the one who opened the way for the Gentile world to receive the gospel. Peter had received the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And the key was that he would unlock the door to heaven, to the Jewish world, to the Gentile world. And that key was the identity of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And so all these become part and parcel to the molding of Peter's life. There was that realization of his iniquity, that he was unworthy, that he was a sinner, and that he needed God. He needed Him for everything in his life, that he was unworthy.

And without Christ, he cannot make it even in the area in which he thinks he is the absolute best in fishing. And then came the revelation of the identity of the Messiah. And that was revealed to him through his father who was in heaven. And that revelation would be how Peter would live his ministry, dependent upon the word of God and what God revealed to him. And then came the recognition, the recognition of his responsibility, that he held the keys to the kingdom, that God had given that to Peter, that Peter would unlock the door to the Jewish world, to the Gentile world, that they might experience heaven at its fullest.

And that would come through that confession that was made about the identity of the Messiah. So you have the realization, you have the revelation, you have the recognition, and then you have number four, the reprehension, the reprehension. And that's found in Matthew 16, verse number 20, that He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ, the Messiah. From that time Christ, Jesus Christ, began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised up on the third day.

And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, God forbid it. Lord, this shall never happen to You. But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan, you are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's. This is the great reprehension. This is the great reproof. This is where Christ would criticize Peter. Peter began to feel his oats. Peter began to think that he was pretty good. I mean, he had said something that was revealed to him only by his Father in heaven.

He had been given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. So now Peter, as the leader taking the initiative, realizes that he is becoming a very powerful man. And all of a sudden Christ says, Listen, but tell no one that I'm the Messiah.

Instead, tell them this, that I'm going to go to the cross. I'm going to die. I'm going to rise again the third day.

And Peter says, Lord, that's not going to happen to You. Let me rebuke You, Lord. Let me help you understand that that's not what the Messiah is going to do.

The Messiah is going to set up His kingdom. The Messiah is going to rule and reign. The Messiah is strong. The Messiah is powerful in You. Lord, let me help You with Your self-esteem, because, Lord, maybe Your self-esteem isn't in the right place.

Let me help You with Your understanding of Your identity, Lord, because You must not understand who You are.

I do, but You don't. And Christ rebukes Peter, reproves him strictly. What's He say? Get thee behind Me, Satan. Peter's this great apostle, and Christ calls him Satan. Peter learns a great lesson today. He learns that his mouth can be used for God, or his mouth can be used for the devil. Folks, we tend not to think that way. But at any time, listen carefully, at any time in your life, when you have your purposes as a focus over God's purposes, you're used by Satan. Did you know that? You're used by Satan.

Peter had in mind his own purposes. This is not what the Messiah does. This is not who the Messiah is, Lord. You can bypass the cross. See, that was Satan's temptation in Matthew 4, right? The whole temptation was for Christ to bypass the cross. His whole mission and purpose was to come to die for the sins of man. Peter wants Christ to bypass his mission, to bypass his purpose, because that didn't fit well into Peter's theology. And yet he was being used of Satan, because he had in mind his own purposes and not the purposes of God.

Peter had his own mission, and it wasn't the mission of God. And so whenever you go through life thinking that your purposes are more important than God's purposes, that the reason you're here is more important than the reason God left you here, you are being used of Satan to somehow distract people from the ultimate mission of the Messiah. That's a lesson that very few people ever learn. But Peter would begin to learn it. He didn't fully understand it at this point, because you notice there's no more conversation except that Christ goes on and talks about coming after Him and denying yourself and taking up your cross and following Him.

Those things were beyond Peter. They were way beyond him at this point in his life. But he would soon come to understand them. So you go from that great realization that Peter began to see back in Luke chapter 5, to come to that great revelation, to that great recognition, to that great reprehension, where Christ rebukes him very strictly, reproves him because he did not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man. Very important. Which leads us to the fifth aspect of Peter's life, and that is the great rejection.

Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Matthew 26. Matthew chapter 26, and we have that great rejection. In Matthew chapter 26, we have these words in verse number 30, and after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Now they'd leave the upper room, they'd make their journey down to the Kidron Valley, and then make their way up to the Mount of Olives. If you walk briskly, it'd probably take you about 15, 20 minutes. If you walk slowly, communicating with your men, it'd probably take you 30 minutes, maybe 35 minutes.

I'm sure that they didn't really briskly walk that evening. They sang a hymn after Christ had washed their feet, how he had transformed the Passover to the Lord's Supper, and how he was working in their lives, and giving them that great exhortation in John 15, 16, and 17. They leave singing a hymn, and they make their way out of the upper room, down through the Kidron up to the Garden of Gethsemane. On their way, Christ says this, Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me.

This night, for it is written, I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered. This is a prophecy. Christ says, this is the given in the Old Testament about you and about me.

The shepherd will be struck down. When the shepherd's struck down, the sheep will scatter. All of you will fall away because of me this night. Peter says, verse 32, Christ says, verse 32, but after I have been risen, I will go before you to Galilee.

But Peter answered and said to him, verse 33, even though all men fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Peter says, Lord, I'm not like the other guys. I'm stronger. I'm rock. I'm rock. I'm the one who goes from just hearing to doing, and I'm the kind of guy you can count on when you can't count on anybody else, Lord. I am your man. Though all these other guys fall away, I will not. Christ says, truly, I say to you that this very night before a cock crows, you shall deny me three times.

Three times, Peter, you're going to deny me before the cock crows. Peter said to him, even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. Even if I had to die, I am not going to deny you. To him who thinks he stands, take heed lest you fall. Beware. You know, one of the lessons we have to learn as leaders, as people, as parents, as co-workers, is that we're not as strong as we like to think we are. We're not as good as we think we are. And Peter had forgotten the first lesson about the realization that he was a sinner, that he was unworthy.

Depart from me, Lord, I am a sinful man. And how quickly we forget the lessons learned. How quickly we learn the lesson on Sunday and forget about it on Monday and can't remember it on Tuesday, then fall away on Wednesday. And maybe we'll come to the service on Wednesday, get it restored, and then go through this whole same old scenario Thursday and Friday and Saturday again. Peter was that way. He had forgotten how unworthy he was. Oh, Lord, let me tell you something.

I am the rock of all rocks. And though all these men deny you, you can count on me. I will die. I will die for you. Look at the end of verse thirty-five.

All the disciples said the same thing, too. See, they all followed Simon. They all followed Peter. He was the leader of the twelve. And so you know the story. They came to the Garden of Gethsemane, and they came to retrieve the Lord. And you know the whole story concerning that whole rejection. Remember, they came, and Peter was the one who took out his little dagger and cut off the ear of Malchus. What was Peter going to do? Kill all 800 soldiers with a little dagger? Well, he had just seen Christ, and now they came looking for the Messiah.

And when Christ said, Whom do you seek? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. And Christ says, I am. And they all fell over backwards. And Peter's thinking, This is great. If I just take out my sword, they're all going to run. And if I just start to wield it, who knows what can happen with the power of the Lord's Word right here. And so he took out his sword and cut off Malchus' ear. And Christ said, Put back your sword, Peter. Put it back. This is not the time for that. Of course, they took our Lord away.

They took him to the house of Caiaphas. If you know anything about the typography of Israel, you know they would have to cross back over the kindred brook, go down to the southern part of Jerusalem to the house of Caiaphas. And Peter would follow them there. Now, how it is he followed them there, I don't know. It was dark, and he was somehow there. But if you pick up the narrative in Matthew 16, verse number 69, now, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. You can go to that place today. In fact, there are steps that lead up to the house of Caiaphas, steps that have been there for over 2,000 years, steps that you know were walked upon by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as they would bring him from Gethsemane to the house of Caiaphas.

Peter would have to ascend those same steps. Peter would have to be somewhere in that courtyard, having a view of the Messiah from a distance. Now, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a certain servant girl came to him and said, You too were with Jesus the Galilean. But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you are talking about. Remember, this is rock. This is the rock guy. Verse 71, And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him, and he said to those who were there, This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.

And again he denied it with an oath, I do not know the man. Folks, these are little girls. These are little girls saying, Hey, aren't you one with Jesus of Nazareth? He can't even stand up to a little girl. And this is the rock. This is the one that says, Lord, though all men deny you, I'll die for you. And yet there's a little girl who squeals on him, and he can't even handle it. You see, you can't make it without God. And Christ said, There's a prophecy that needs to be fulfilled. The shepherd will be stricken, and the sheep will scatter.

And no matter what we say, and no matter how hard we might toot our own horn, Scripture will be fulfilled, no matter what we say. And Peter didn't believe that. And then it says in verse number 73, And a little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, Surely you too are one of them, for the way you talk gives you away. Then he began to curse, and he began to swear. Why did he do that? Because you see, no true child of God speaks like that, right? I mean, how is it people can know you're not one of Christ's children?

You curse and swear. I mean, that's what the world does, right? So Peter's catching on here, the way I can help them understand that I am not like one of them. I will curse, and I will swear. I will speak as though I am not a disciple or a follower of the Christ. I will speak like everybody else speaks, and then that will guarantee them that I am not a follower of the Messiah. He began to curse and swear. I do not know this man. And immediately a cock crowed. Immediately a cock crowed, and Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said.

Before a cock crows, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. Luke's account, listen carefully, Luke's account says, And the cock crowed. And when the cock crowed, Luke's account says, And the Lord looked at Peter. Now think about that. Peter vehemently denied the fact that he would deny the Lord. That's not me. I am rock. And it's not going to happen. And when it happened, now you see, Peter was able to observe the Messiah. And if you read the account of what took place in Caiaphas's house, you know that the Sanhedrin would beat upon his face.

And so his face had already begun to swell. The eyes had begun to puff or to raise up. His nose probably had been bloodied. His lips were already swollen. And so as Christ would look at Peter in the courtyard with a face that had already begun to be swollen, through swollen eyes he would look at Peter.

And Peter would see the swollen face of the Messiah and realize what he had done. He had did exactly what Christ said he would do. This is that great rejection. And Peter would go out and he would weep, weep bitterly. Now there are times in our lives where we reject the Messiah, where we rebel against his authority in our lives, and we deny the Lord. And we might say to ourselves, we're not going to deny him, but we deny him by the words we use that don't reflect his image. We deny we are children of the living God when we live like the world.

Anytime we live like the world and want to engage in the worldly activities, we are denying Christ as our Lord. And He looks at us as He looked at Peter. And you know what? We need to realize as Peter would come to realize ultimately that what Christ says is true.

We can't debate that. We need to follow Him. Well the great rejection leads to the great restoration. That's in John 21. And you know the story of John 21. We refer to it on many occasions where Christ would come back to Peter after his resurrection. This is that great restoration. Peter had gone back to fishing. Why did he go back to fishing even after the resurrection? Because he was at the point in his life where he was questioning, is it really worth it? And Christ was going to restore him. Remember what Christ said, go tell the disciples and Peter.

Go tell the disciples, He said to the women, go tell the disciples and Peter. Well isn't Peter a disciple? Yes, he is. So why after the resurrection did Christ emphasize Peter? Because of his great rejection. There was going to be a great restoration. A restoration of this man back to ministry to be used in a great way. And you know the question. I love the interchange. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? Remember He's referring to Simon in his carnal state, in his fleshy state because he's rebelled against the Lord's authority.

He's done what he wasn't supposed to do. So Christ refers to him as Simon. He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him a second time, Simon son of John, do you love me?

He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, shepherd my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon son of Jonah, do you love me?

And Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, now get this phrase, Lord, you know what? All things. Lord, you know my heart. You knew I was going to deny you three times. And that's why Christ would come back and question Peter three times. Because of the three denials, do you really love me, Peter? And Peter comes to the conclusion, Lord, you know all things. He remembered the look. He remembered the look of Christ. And he knew at that time that the Lord knew what he was going to do.

And in this conversation with the Lord, he says, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. And Christ said to him, tend my sheep. Peter, you need to follow me all the way to the end. This was Peter's restoration. It was that point in his life where Christ said, Peter, no matter how much you deny me, no matter how much you reject me, I am going to restore you to ministry, Peter. Because I want to use you in a great and powerful way. And Peter was learning all these lessons. And you come to that seventh word, the great resolution, the great resolution of Peter.

And that's what you find in the book of Acts, Acts 1 to 11. The great resolve by this man, the great resolution where this man came to the resolve that he would be steadfast, he would be firm, he would be committed no matter what. And all through the book of Acts, all through 1 Peter, all through 2 Peter, you have a man that was totally sold out to Jesus Christ, his Lord. Why? Because he learned to be Peter. He learned not to be Simon. He learned to be Peter. He learned to be more than just a hearer of the word.

He learned to be a doer of the word. And that's where stability would come from. That's where his strength would come from. It would all come because of the word of Almighty God. And for us, that's where we need to be. We need to come to a point of resolve, a point of commitment, a point of a realization where we say, Lord, you know what? I know I am inadequate. I know I can't make it without you, that I am unworthy. I know, Lord, you want to use me as you use Peter. I know, Lord, that you have given me the key that is your identity to open up the door to heaven so Jew and Gentile alike will hear the gospel and know the truth.

I know that you give me that key, Lord, and yet there are times because of my arrogance, because of my insolence, I think I can make it without you. And I know better than you do, and I reject you. And yet, Lord, I know that you want to restore me to a place of responsibility, a place of ministry, a place that, Lord, will give others the opportunity to receive what I have. And I make that resolve and say, Lord, I will serve you. I will honor you the rest of my life. I wonder if you made that resolve this morning.

We embark on the Christmas season, the opportunity where we give to one another. But Christmas is the time which we are to give to the Lord, where we give to Him our lives. We give to Him our hearts. We give to Him all that we have. Having already given it to Him at the point of salvation, we are reminded, Lord, to the Lord that we are to continually give our life away for Him, for His glory and for His honor. And may that be the lesson we learn about Peter and all the things that he learned through his life.

A few quick snapshots of a man who really began to understand he needed to be more than a hearer of the Word, he needed to be a doer of the Word. Would it be that we as followers of Christ would do what God says every moment of every day?

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today, the opportunity you've given to us to study your Word. We know, Lord, that there are many things that we fall short of. We are not the kind of people we need to be. And there are times we think that we are. And yet, Lord, we are reminded by the life of Peter that we need to be careful. We need to trust you completely and follow you sincerely. And I ask, Lord, for every man and woman in this room this morning that this would be the day in which they understand that they need to be like Peter, to resolve to follow you no matter what and live a life that brings glory to God, to have in mind your purpose, your mission, your objectives over my mission, my purpose, and my objectives, to have you as a priority over all things.

We pray that that would be the case for all of us, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.