Proud Peter and Loving our Savior

We are making what I think is a safe assumption that you know that your children are dismissed

! I do love listening to you sing, but I really like saying, turn in your Bibles.

So I want you to turn to John chapter 13. We're going to look at verse 36 through 38 this morning.

John 13 · chapter mention

Before we do that, I want to say greetings to Rich and Christy and their family. All of you are here.

Would you stand up, please? I just have to see you at full length.

I was praying for Rich.

Rich, I sent him a text.

And he said, oh, I'll be in church on Sunday.

I thought, wow.

I wish everybody I prayed for were here today.

Well, Rich, would you pray for me as I preach this morning?

And I drink.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

and I put those out for you is so that they'll kind of serve as a compass point,

something to kind of focus you and lock your mind in on some essential truth

for your benefit and for His glory.

For one, I want to remind you of this fact that all things in Scripture are valuable.

We have a tendency, there's some passages that we really lock in and we appreciate,

and we, oh man, that's great.

But the Scriptures make it clear that all Scripture is given by inspiration

and is profitable that the man of God may be completely furnished,

completely equipped for every good work.

And so when we hit some of those passages that we're naturally inclined to kind of,

yeah, yeah, I got that one, step on, don't do it.

Ask the Spirit of God to enable you in your study

and your appreciation for the Word that He has given to us

to dig in and understand what is this passage here for

and how does it apply, what does it do

in equipping my heart for godliness and leading me in the path of righteousness.

There's another thing that I think is important for us to remember,

and that is that when we're in the Scriptures,

it's always important to remember that really the center point,

the focal point of Scripture is the Lord Jesus Christ.

I like the fact that John's Gospel tells us over in John 20, verse 31,

John 20:31

what the theme and the purpose of the book of John is.

What is it?

Does anybody remember offhand?

These things are written so that you can feel really good about yourself.

Am I right?

Now, just check in to see if you've been listening to Dr. Phil this morning.

These things are written that you might know that Jesus is the Christ

and believing you might have eternal life.

Now, I may have lost a word or so,

but the point is the heart of Scripture is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isn't that right?

And we're going to see that again this morning as we step into this passage.

Ultimately, all Scripture is there to lift up the supremacy

and the glory of the Lord Jesus,

and that's why we're here this morning,

that we find our supreme satisfaction and our delight

in the person and the work of Christ.

And so this morning as we are looking at this text,

we are kind of reminded that we're dealing with a rather sordid moment,

a very sad moment in the life of Peter.

How many of you would like everybody to remember perfect things about you,

your most glorious moments?

And yet the Scriptures record the incessant failures of men

that God used for His glory.

And here we are, we're looking at Peter's life,

and we're picking up on one of the just abject failures of this individual

that leaves us kind of wondering,

oh, how could Peter do that?

And a fair question is, so why is it here?

And we'll get into that a little bit more.

But I do want you to understand that this failure of Peter

appears in all four Gospels.

That's interesting.

I don't mean to suggest that there's kind of a value structure

that anything that appears in only one Gospel

is not as valuable as something that appears in all four Gospels.

And the point I would make is that

most of what we find in chapter 13 all the way to 17,

the upper room discourse and some of the things

that happened in the last five hours of Christ's life

prior to the cross happens only in the book of John.

And that doesn't mean to suppose that that must be less valuable

than what we find in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

But it is noteworthy that here we have this particular incident

in the life of Peter the Apostle recorded in all four Gospels.

And for the most part, we're not going to jump back and forth

between the other Gospels, but we do want to recognize

that we're going to pick up some detail there

that will help us understand just the depth of the failure of Peter.

Here we are within hours of the cross,

and we find Jesus ministering in a very, very pointed

and deliberate way to those that He was going to die for.

We saw earlier in our study in the book of John

His affection and His tenderness to Judas,

and we think, wow, how could He do that

to a person who He knew was going to betray Him?

Now you find Him doing something similar in the life of Peter

who was going to deny Him in just a few minutes.

So as we step into the text, we begin there in verse 36,

Simon Peter said to Him,

Lord, where are you going?

I want you to look first of all at a picture of pride.

That's what this is, pride.

How many of you have ever been involved in a conversation

and you're trying to make a meaningful point to someone

that you really care about,

and the minute you take a breath,

they step in with something that is not related at all?

Have you ever been there?

They have been waiting to let you know how important they are.

And none of you have ever done that,

but you've experienced it, right?

And here's Peter.

Jesus has been pouring His heart out.

He has broken the bread and He's shared the cup,

and He says,

this cup is the cup of New Testament in my blood.

This bread is broken for you.

He's talking about the cross.

He speaks about the fact that He is going to be betrayed.

And all through this,

you can kind of get the sense in this passage

that here is Peter.

Just as soon as Jesus finishes talking,

Peter starts off in a completely different direction.

It's kind of like Jesus is saying,

yeah, I'm going to die for you.

I do want you to really work at loving each other

because this business of loving each other,

it's not like you've got your hands all around this.

You need some help.

You need some reminder.

And as soon as Peter has an opportunity,

yeah, well, I understand what you're saying is important,

but let me tell you something else.

I've been listening.

Where are you going?

What's up?

Where are you going?

And when you find this little statement made by Peter,

it is kind of a very sober reminder to all of us

that we would be well served

if we would be better listeners to what Jesus has to say

rather than thinking about our own agenda all the time.

Here's Peter not picking up the details.

Well, I want you to look at another of the gospel accounts,

and so keep your finger in John.

We're going to come back to it in a minute,

but turn, if you will, over to Matthew 26.

As we look at the passage in Matthew as well,

we're going to pick up some details

that help us understand the circumstances

and the setting a little better.

Matthew 26, verse 31.

Matthew 26:31

Verse 30 says,

And when they'd sung a hymn,

they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them,

You will all fall away because of me this night,

for it is written,

I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

But after I am raised up,

I will go before you to Galilee.

Peter answered him,

Though they all fall away because...

I will never fall.

Can you hear it?

There's a guy that's pretty full of himself, isn't he?

You know, yeah.

The rest of these guys,

I don't know why you picked them,

but yeah, I expect them to fall away.

They're a low life, you know.

They're not very well spiritually founded,

and they're not where I am.

They may fall, but not me.

I'm with this one.

I'm okay.

Okay.

So here you have Peter.

How many of you have ever wondered

just what a loose cannon Peter really was?

Have you ever kind of...

Why did you pick him?

I debated back and forth about telling the story,

but I will.

It's always dangerous when pastors debate stories

and then go ahead anyway.

Am I right, Pastor Sherris?

Like afterwards, you have an opportunity to say,

I shouldn't have done it, but here we go.

When I think about the Bible picture of Peter,

it kind of gives me a great deal of hope

that if God can use someone like Peter,

he probably...

I've got some hope and encouragement, right?

I got to tell you,

when I was growing up,

my parents went out of their way

to see to it that the Kenoyer children

had every conceivable opportunity

of being enculturated.

I learned how to eat chicken

with a fork and knife instead of my fingers.

It was a long process

and really not one that I keep handy anymore,

but I learned how to eat chicken

with a fork and a knife,

and there are all kinds of things that went well.

My parents, as we were traveling

back and forth from India,

missionaries in India,

they made it a point to take us

to every dog and pony show.

There were places we went,

dog and pony show.

You're wondering what that's all about.

Were they really into dogs and ponies?

No, no, no.

We went to all kinds of significant,

historic museums.

We saw them all.

All different kinds of cathedrals

through Europe.

One place that I remember distinctly

was St. Peter's Basilica.

Does anybody know where

St. Peter's Basilica is?

It is in Rome.

It is the center point.

I remember St. Peter's Basilica

for two particular reasons.

One is that there was a central place

below grade where Peter was supposedly buried.

And my brother Mark

decided that he would stick his head,

he couldn't see over top.

He was short.

So he stuck his head down through.

How many of you know how balusters are carved?

You know, they're kind of carved like this.

And so he stuck his head down through low

and he looked to try to get a better picture

of where Peter was buried.

And then when he decided it was time

to remove his head,

he lifted it up,

got it stuck.

Now Mark,

Mark,

at that point,

was a little poorly developed

in terms of logic.

And he thought,

if he pulled harder,

it would work better.

And it just,

do you know what it caused?

It got stuck worse.

And then the thought

of being permanently

snared

in St. Peter's Basilica,

staring down at Peter's grave,

he thought that it was appropriate

to kind of up the ante

and really cry loudly.

So that's one thing I remember.

I remember my brother bellowing

and my father in anguished panic,

reaching over,

pushing his head down,

pushing him out.

We are in the holy of holies

of some kind of faith.

The other thing

that just blew me away,

walking through,

you know,

after we got that one calmed down,

we're walking through

St. Peter's Basilica

and looking at

all this artwork.

There was a bronze statue

of Peter

that had the toe

kind of worn off.

Does anybody know

why St. Peter's toe

is worn off

in St. Peter's Basilica?

Tell me, Mandy, why?

So many people

have kissed

and rubbed

St. Peter's bronze toe

that it's kind of dulled off

and it's lost

some of its,

you know,

distinct features.

I thought,

yeah, you've got to be kidding me.

This guy was,

the one we're looking at

is different

than the ones

in St. Peter's Basilica.

Do you follow

what I want you to do?

I've got to tell you,

here is Peter,

pretty full of himself,

pretty arrogant.

And so,

I want you to think

with me about

several things

that we learn about

Peter in this passage.

For one,

he was dismissive

of the lesson

Jesus taught

on loving the brethren.

He was dismissive

of the lesson

Jesus had taught

about loving the brethren.

Here he was,

Jesus had just finished

his lesson

about loving one another

and instead of saying,

you know what,

I really appreciate

this lesson

and I need that

because I am one

who continues

to struggle

in my love

for everybody else

other than myself.

Here's Peter,

didn't pay any attention

and he says,

yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well,

I understand.

Off he goes.

And I want you

to understand

that when we stop

and think about this,

if we were to rank issues

of importance

in body life

and effective ministry

and mission work

and survivability

and godliness,

what we would have to say

is that loving one another

is really high

on the food chain.

It is essential

to our spiritual well-being.

And here's Peter,

not listening,

full of himself,

not pondering honestly

and with humility

what Jesus had to say

and he was quite ready

to go back

to another point

that Jesus had made earlier.

So I've got to ask you

this question.

How often do you find yourself

sidetracked

from important

spiritual lessons

that God is in the process

of teaching you

and kind of getting buried

on things that are

of secondary

and almost irrelevant importance

like

personal preferences,

Christian liberty

or politics?

I have to tell you

there is a part of me

that is profoundly thankful

that we are past November

almost,

but we're past elections.

I hate to tell you,

whatever happens in Washington

is not as important

as some people

make it out to be.

The kingdom of God

and the work of Christ

is ongoing

no matter who is there.

And so here

I look at Peter

and I'm reminded

that it's pretty easy

to get sidetracked.

And also,

have you ever thought

that you would

step off

on a different path

than your Lord

and loving in structure

and not been willing

to learn the lessons

that he had in front of you?

And so when he says to you,

you need to work

at loving other people.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But I am all about

you need to lock down

on things that don't count.

Abiding

in lasting,

faithful love

for the brethren

and is essential.

And so here we see

Peter, the apostle,

instead of learning

the lesson

that Jesus was focused

on teaching him

in the last moments

prior to the cross,

Peter's off on his own.

Second,

I find it stunning

that here we find

Peter disbelieving

the prophetic word

of God through Christ.

Do you hear me?

Peter heard exactly

what Jesus said

about denying him

and yet he was so full

of his own wisdom

and pride

that instead of

trembling

at the prospect

of his own

spiritual failure,

he turned around

and he rebuked Christ

and corrected him.

Would you do that?

Can you imagine

yourself doing that?

Jesus announces,

you're going to deny me.

You're going to walk

away from me.

You're going to turn

your back on me.

And Peter says,

not me.

Now the rest of them,

they may do it.

I mean, you know,

they're not with it,

but I'm going to come through.

And I've got to tell you

that Peter's open denial

of the authority

and the supremacy

of the word of Christ

was a direct rejection

of Christ's infallibility

and the word.

And so I wonder

whether there are times

in your life

where you know the word.

How many of you

have ever sinned

knowing exactly

what the Bible

has to say

about the consequences

of sin

and doing it anyway?

Come on,

everybody raise your hand.

All of us.

We're saying,

you know what?

I don't care

what you say, Jesus.

This is the way

I think anyway.

Don't disbelieve

the prophetic word

of Christ.

There's another thing

that I want you

to recognize,

and here is Peter

in very quick,

closed attitude,

diminishing the danger

of sin.

Look at the passage there

in Matthew chapter 26 again,

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

and Peter says,

though they all fall away

because of you,

I will never fall away.

Hey, Jesus warned him.

Peter had his last word,

and instead of thinking

very quickly about,

you know what?

Here is the Son of God,

the Word of God,

the incarnate Word of God

who's telling me

I'm going to fall into sin,

and instead of being

frightened at the prospect

of his own carnality

and wickedness,

here is Peter

having an argument

with Christ.

Peter's quick self-defense

and self-confidence

in his flesh

tell us so much

about Peter's lack of fear

for his own sinfulness.

Everybody listen.

One of the things

that should come

with you getting older

in the faith,

are you listening?

Is you have an increased fear

of the natural tendency

of your heart

to drift left of center.

Peter, as a good Jewish boy,

should have had

Proverbs chapter 16,

Proverbs 16:18

verse 18,

memorized,

and at the point

of recitation

with one hand tied

behind his back.

Does anybody know

Proverbs 16, 18?

Here we go.

Pride goeth

before destruction

and a haughty spirit

before a fall.

How many of you,

when you find yourself

getting a little bristly

and a little bit

full of yourself,

have the Spirit of God

whisper that obvious verse

in your ear?

Here are a couple

little tests

to tell whether or not

you're convinced

of sin's danger.

They're important,

so I want you

to write them down.

Here are a couple

little tests

to help you

figure out

whether or not

you have a

serious

appreciation

for sin.

Number one,

a healthy prayer life

that reflects

a love for Christ

and a fear

for sin.

How do I know

that I'm where

I need to be

spiritually in relationship

to the struggle

I have with sin?

Number one,

a healthy prayer life

that reflects

a love for Christ

and a fear for sin.

In Matthew 26,

Matthew 26:41

verse 41,

Jesus said this

to his disciples,

pray,

can anybody finish

the rest,

that you enter

not into temptation.

Bump into a person

that has a prayer life

that is kind of

a microcosm

of what they're

really like

in their thinking.

It's like,

God bless me,

give me a good day,

I'd like to have

good weather,

I'd like to,

you know,

it's like,

what?

That's just a train wreck

in the journey

to where it's going

to happen.

Here's the second thing.

If you have

a conviction

regarding the danger

of sin,

there will be

a cautious

distancing

of yourself

from ungodly

influences.

Over in Psalm 1,

Psalms 1:1

verse 1,

it says,

blessed is the man

who does not sit,

right?

Walk,

stand,

in the counsel

of the ungodly.

And so you ask yourself,

how much influence

do I expose myself

to that which inclines me

towards ungodliness?

I've got to tell you something.

You don't have to just

be around ungodly people.

You can be affected

by what you listen to,

by what you engage in

and the entertainment

that you enjoy,

by the kind of people

that you're around.

You know what?

I hear an awful lot about,

oh,

I'm all doing this

for ministry.

Really?

Who's poisoning who?

Psalm 1.

Psalm 1.

Blessed is the man

that does not.

It's talking about influence.

Third,

if you're going to have

a sensitivity to sin,

is there a consistent

and affectionate time

in the Word of God?

But his delight,

now let me say it carefully.

I want you to think about this.

His delight is in the law

of the Lord

and in his law

he meditates both day and night.

Do you know what it means

to delight in something?

I'll give you a comparison.

How many of you

were looking forward

to Thanksgiving dinner?

You delight in it.

It happens once a year.

I read an interesting

little blog

that said that

you ought to spend

one day a year

just grumbling

and 364 years

being thankful.

And it's like,

okay,

today's the day

I should be thankful.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah,

forget it.

Yeah.

How many of you

were looking forward

to Thanksgiving dinner

because it's like,

it's turkey.

Yeah.

Brined in case

you want a good bird.

mashed potatoes,

golden Yukons

with the skins on.

You know,

little details

you have to know,

right?

And it's like,

how many of you

in advance

of Thanksgiving dinner

gorged yourself

on potato chips?

Did you do that?

No,

it's like,

I'm coming to the table hungry.

And,

you know,

I'm diabetic,

I'm going to dose myself

a little extra,

but it's okay.

Okay.

Here we go.

One other thing

I want you to see

about Peter,

it strikes me.

That passage

in Matthew chapter 26,

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

here he says,

though they all fall away

because of you,

I will never fall away.

Here we find Peter

discrediting other believers.

That's significant.

Read the text

and ask yourself

how often you have thought

ill of others

and suspicioned

their weaknesses

and assumed

that you knew their hearts.

Yeah,

I know what they're thinking.

Do you?

You're right up there

with Jesus.

Oh,

yeah.

Here was Peter,

full of himself,

accusing

and demeaning

other people.

And so here we are

in the shadow

of the cross

looking at Peter

and discovering

that he is far

too much

like each of us

and here is a person

who desperately needs

the grace of Christ.

So,

here's the part

I really like.

That's where we get

to see Jesus.

Isn't that right?

So,

I want us to think

about our gentle

and loving Savior.

Here he is

going back to the passage

in John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

Jesus warns

his disciples

of their frailty

and one of the precious

truths of our God

and our Savior

is that

he is good.

And this passage

serves as an illustration

of his goodness

because we see it

in his willing

announcement to us

in advance

of what our frailties

and our weaknesses are

and warning us

of the danger to come.

How many of you know

that this is a characteristic

of God?

He always tells you ahead

what you need.

And he also warns you

of the consequences

of not following

his path.

How many of you

have learned

that people

who are a little hesitant

to share full information

are really not trustworthy

and don't have

your best interest

in heart?

Right?

The nature of Satan

is he doesn't tell us

what the outcome is.

God in his kindness

puts it all out in front

and gives us

all the information

we need

in order to make

a wise decision.

Here is Jesus

saying to his disciples,

listen,

let me tell you something.

Here's what's going

to happen.

And so I want you

to understand

that when we think

about Jesus,

we recognize

that his nature

and his character

is to put it out

there in front

so we know

what's coming.

Jesus guides

and teaches his own.

And he warns them

of sin

and encourages them

to walk in truth.

And this is evident

as we look

at the disciples here.

We see that

they had all

the information

they needed

in order to make

a good decision

and yet what happened?

They didn't.

It's quite evident

that the disciples

over and over again

did not listen

to Christ's counsel

and they suffered

because of the hardness

and the disobedience

of their heart.

So let me ask you

this question

in practical terms.

Are you really listening

to hear the voice

of God

in your ear?

Now,

when I say that,

let me back up

just a little bit

because there are people

that are going

to come to me

and say,

I heard God tell me.

Everybody smile.

I heard God tell me.

I don't buy that.

What I do believe

is that the word of God

is the way

in which we hear

the voice of God.

Can I say that

real,

slowly?

We hear the voice

of God

through the word

of God.

Now,

if what you mean

when you say,

I hear God told me

is that you had

the spirit of God

remind you

of a passage

of scripture

and,

oh,

yeah,

yeah,

I got that.

I got that.

But when a person

comes and tells me,

I heard God tell me

that I should go

to China,

I say,

really?

Where is that

in the Bible?

I mean,

China,

you know.

Should you go

next door

to your neighbor?

Absolutely.

Should you be

an evangelist?

Should you share

the gospel?

Should you be

interested in the

well-being of others?

Yeah,

yeah,

yeah.

Well,

do you follow my point?

So I want you

to recognize here

that when you look

at this case,

we see that Jesus

guides.

He gives instruction.

There's something else.

I want you to recognize

that Jesus also lovingly

corrected Peter's

self-inflated confidence.

Question.

How many of you here

are so abjectly

grieved by your own

frailties that you have

no self-confidence?

Don't raise your hands.

Here we go.

Before Peter fell,

I want you to see

that we receive

in the text

further instruction

and correction.

Back in that passage

in Matthew chapter 26,

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

and I turned away from it

so back we go.

Matthew chapter 26,

Matthew 26:33

verse 33 and 34.

Listen to what it says there.

Jesus said to him,

Truly I tell you

that this very night

before the rooster crows,

you will deny me

three times.

Peter said to him,

Even if I must die

with you,

I will not deny you.

And all the disciples

said the same.

Now if you look back

at John chapter 13,

John 13 · chapter mention

you're in Matthew,

but go to John chapter 13,

John 13:38

verse 38.

Listen to what it says there.

John 13, 38.

Jesus answered,

Will you lay down

your life for me?

Truly, truly.

How many of you know

what truly, truly is?

Truly, truly is like,

get this.

This is it.

I'm telling you the truth.

Don't miss the point.

So when Jesus says,

truly, truly,

what he is saying is,

pay attention, Peter.

And so I got to tell you

that there are some of you

here this morning

that are receiving

the warning signs of God

about an issue

in your life and heart,

and Jesus,

knowing what's going on

in your thinking,

is saying,

you need to be really careful.

There's some of you here

that are hearing his warning

about the dangers of bitterness,

the danger of immorality,

the danger of being full of yourself

and pride

and dealing with unforgiveness.

And I got to tell you

how it works out.

There's some of you

saying no to God.

And here are the little indicators.

When God is dealing

with an issue of sin

in my life

and an issue of sin

in your life,

the first thing he does

is he used your conscience

to prompt you,

don't do it.

Don't do that.

And by the way,

when God says,

don't do that,

he always has a little

parenthetical statement

that is,

this is not going to glorify me

and it is going to hurt you.

It's like when a parent says,

do not put that knife

in the wall socket,

the kid says,

yeah.

Okay.

So God says,

don't do it.

The Spirit of God says,

don't do it.

The friend says,

don't do it.

The wife,

the dad,

don't do it.

And when you are unwilling

to listen to the gentle

prompting of God,

he will then bring

harder voices

and harder issues

to bear.

Why?

Because he loves you enough,

he's not going to let you

get away with it.

One other thing

that I want you to hold on to

here about Jesus

and look at Luke chapter 22,

Luke 22:31

verse 31,

and this is one

that just blows me away.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Simon,

Simon,

Satan demanded

to have you

that he might sift you

like wheat.

You remember

when

in the book of Job

we find that

Satan shows up

in heaven

and God says,

hey,

you been thinking

about how my

sermon Job is doing?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Pretty good guy,

isn't he?

Yeah.

Yeah.

But I'll tell you what,

if you let me mess with him,

he's out.

Here is Satan

asking if he

can trash

Peter's life.

Huh?

I want you to listen.

There's not

a one of you

here today

that is a believer

that does not

have the adversary

that wants to

absolutely ruin

your life.

He is interested

in destroying you.

Those who are

the children of God

don't lose their salvation

when they trash

their lives,

but I'll tell you what,

they suffer

and Satan

wants to ruin

things.

There's not

And so here is Jesus saying this to Peter.

But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail,

and when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.

Do you get that?

Peter, you are pretty full of yourself.

And you are going to suffer because of your stubborn pride.

But it isn't over because I have prayed for you.

And when you come out the other side,

I want you to put your energy into helping other people who will be struggling.

And so I find great consolation.

I find great encouragement.

In fact, that Jesus bathed the weak and sinful Peter with prayer.

If you're a believer this morning, I've got to tell you something.

He's praying for you.

Do you need it?

Yes.

Do you need it?

Yes.

Hebrews 7, verse 25.

Hebrews 7:25

And just mark this down and look at it.

It says,

He ever liveth to make intercession for you.

What's Jesus doing today?

He is at the throne praying for Tim Kenoyer.

He's at the throne praying for you.

And His present ministry is to hold us up and plead our case and care for our well-being.

So let me close with a few practical words for you to hold on to this morning.

For one,

The word is settled and sure.

The word is settled and sure.

As you look at this account of Peter, I've got to tell you, what is promised will come about.

And there are some of you here this morning that you're not paying attention to that.

The word is settled and sure.

What Jesus has to say is absolutely certain and it may be relied upon.

Number two, pride goes before destruction.

Isn't it interesting to see this practical illustration of Proverbs 16, 18 in Peter's life, right?

Huh?

How many of you need stories and pictures?

We all do.

And so here is Peter, right?

I guarantee you they didn't build that great big basilica because of his real life.

Peter was subject to like passions as I am and you are.

But we have this picture that reminds us pride goes before destruction.

And I've got to tell you that as I read this story of Peter, it would seem that he did learn.

Why do I say that?

Because over in 1 Peter 5, verse 6, here's what it says.

1 Peter 5:6

This is Peter.

He is close to dying.

And he has a little bit of advice for the believers that are going to be left behind when he packs it out.

Do you know what he has to say?

Listen to this.

How many of you have found that you get irritated by things like traffic, by other people's lack of God-honoring punctuality,

by people's lack of consideration for your personal preferences?

I mean, after all, it should be the way I want.

Do you understand?

Again, humble yourself beneath the mighty hand of God that in due time, what?

He'll exalt you.

As I read the story of Peter, I am so very thankful that I see an example of someone that over time eventually began to learn humility.

That is one of the benefits of lasting relationships.

I was explaining to someone earlier today in the new membership class, I was explaining that one of the blessings of lasting relationships is you get to see the work of God over time.

You know, pastors are there every two or three years and the next guy comes in after and after.

You don't get to see what God does over time.

You get to see Peter early.

You get to see Peter late.

And you say, wow, if God can do that in Peter's life, he can do it in mine.

Finally, finally, Jesus will not let you go.

I want you to write that down.

Jesus will not let you go.

Jesus will not let you go.

Jesus will not let you go.

If you are here this morning and you are the child of Christ, I got to tell you, the child of God, you don't have to ask the question,

am I going to make it home or not?

And the answer is yes.

And he'll get you there.

He'll get you there.

He will do whatever is necessary to help you grow in grace.

And here's the deal.

You can make it easier on yourself or you can just go ahead and test the limits and find out how much he really loves.

Now, can I tell you that from personal experience, it's not a good thing to mess with him when he wants to get you home.

How many of you learned as little children that it's a whole lot better to let your daddy lead you where he's going rather than make him drag you?

I was one that was drugged.

But I got to tell you, Jesus will not let you go.

So let me ask you this question this morning as I close.

Is Jesus really your Savior?

Is he your Savior?

Is he your Savior?

Do you have the relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that Peter had and is here for our sake and edification?

Does that make sense?

There's no reason to tell this story without seeing Jesus in the center of it.

Do you know him?

Truth of the matter is, there's some of you here this morning that have, you've heard all the stories.

You can sing all the songs.

But the fact of the matter is that you've never come to the place where you, in absolute, abject humility, have cried out and said,

I am a mess and I need Jesus as my Savior.

The story doesn't end well for those who refuse.

The Savior who came into this world to die for our sins and rise again that we might have salvation,

not through our own efforts, but by his finished work.

And I want to appeal with you, plead with you, if you need Jesus, I've got to tell you, today's the day.

Do not walk out of here in hardness of heart, refusing the sweetness of our Savior.

Let's close in prayer.

Our Father God, this morning as we lift up the Lord Jesus Christ,

we lift him up in absolute confidence

that Jesus is the Savior of the world, the Lord in glory.

And the day is coming that he will return and all those who know him will enjoy heaven forever.

And those who willingly refuse the sweetness of the gospel

will spend all of eternity in bitter, hard, resentful, angry suffering.

And it is our plea this morning that your spirit would break through the hardness

and bring the gospel in its sweetness.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.