Handcuffs, Hypocrites and Hurts (Jim Rapp)

Father, you and you alone are worthy of our praise.

You and you alone are faithful 100% of the time and, father, even when we do not deserve it, you have mercy on us and you work on our behalf, in spite of us.

We thank you for that, lord, in Jesus' name.

In Jesus' name, let's give him a hand clap.

Amen, amen.

Thank you, father.

Isn't it good that God is always faithful?

My goodness, my goodness, it's always encouraging to me as we're singing and worshiping this morning.

We've already talked about chains.

We've already talked about experiencing God.

We've already talked about Him being with us when we're hurting, and I think it's so cool simply because the title of my message today is Handcuffs, hypocrites and Hurts.

That's going to make sense as we go along.

Now, how many of you know that there are a lot of people in our world today who are dealing with a lot of hardships and hangups?

Anyone here this morning dealing with hardships or hangups?

Okay, I'm the only one that's sad.

Okay, y'all need to repent right now, because I know that y'all are dealing with some stuff.

Okay, the truth is, we're all dealing with something.

It may not be the same thing, but we're all dealing with something God wants all of us to be about his business.

I'm going to say that again, god wants all of us to be about His business.

Now, the problem, though, is we're not always about His business.

Okay, oftentimes, we seem to be consumed with our own stuff, or at least.

Okay, let me just step back.

There are times that I am consumed with my own stuff.

Okay, this, this message today, is for me.

Y'all just get to get in on what god's already been speaking to me, okay?

So here's the thing oftentimes, we put the things that God wants us to do we'll put them back here on the back burner, because either we don't want to deal with it, we don't feel that we're equipped to deal with it, or we're afraid to deal with it, and I fall under all three three of those at some point or time.

There are times when we even take what God wants us to do.

We put it in a box and we just bury it in a back closet, and then, to make ourselves feel better, we may say something along the lines of I'll get to those things, god, that you want me to do after I get my stuff in order.

How many of you know, we don't have to get it all right before we come to God.

I don't get all cleaned up before I take a shower.

The shower is what gets us clean, and it's getting in the presence of God and letting Him do what he wants to do with us that we begin to have the power and the energy and the want to to be about His business.

There are times that we've just got to get over ourselves.

At least that's my take on it.

Now, as a police officer, one of the tools that I have on my duty belt is a set of handcuffs.

Now, handcuffs are used to restrict someone's movement or to help it so that they're not able to fight, and handcuffs are used for a multiple of reasons.

And handcuffs are used for a multiple of reasons.

One of those is to make sure that the person that is being handcuffed, for their protection or quite possibly for the officer's protection, because how many of you know, not everybody wants to go to jail.

You know, you think, well, you know somebody's doing something wrong.

They understand that and they're like okay, we'll just go to jail.

That's not how it works, okay.

So today I want us to start by turning over to Mark, the fifth chapter.

We're going to begin with verse one, and I'm going to be reading today out of the New Living Translation, mark, chapter five, verse one, and this is what it says.

So they arrived at the other side of the lake in the region of the Gazarenes.

When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by evil spirit came from out of the tombs to meet him.

This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain.

Whenever he was put into chains and shackles, as he often was, he snapped the chains from his wrist and smashed the shackles.

No one was strong enough to subdue him.

Day and night, he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.

Okay, this guy's having a bad day, okay.

And when we look over in the book of Luke to get a different account of this same story, in Luke, chapter eight, verse 27, it says this as Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him.

For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside of town.

Okay, we just thought he had it bad.

Now, when we read Luke's take on the story, it gets worse, this demon-possessed man was living among the tombs, or in other words, he was living in a cemetery.

Okay, not the ideal place to win friends and influence people, would you say?

Okay, he was living in the cemetery.

How long had he been living there?

We don't know the exact amount of time, but Luke tells us it was for a long time.

I want you to think about that for a minute.

Probably not a week, probably not even a month, possibly years.

This man has been living this way, and how many of you know that's a sad state to find yourself in?

He was dealing with emotional issues, homelessness, nakedness, living in the tombs outside of towns, and he was also crazy strong due to the demons that were living on the inside of him.

This man was dealing with a lot of hardships.

These were some serious things.

Mark, chapter 5, verse 4, says Whenever he was put into chains and shackles, as he often was, he snapped the chains from his wrist and smashed the shackles.

Mark 5:4

No one was strong enough to subdue him.

This poor guy would be considered in the police world a repeat offender.

That's just reality.

Regardless of what his issues were, as far as the police were concerned, his actions would have placed him in a repeat offender category.

That's just the facts.

Okay, now, he was often okay, that means more than once often put in chains and shackles.

Now, shackles would be more akin to our modern-day handcuffs.

And it says every time he was put in one of these positions that he would break the chains and just smash the shackles.

Okay, that's a scary place to be in, okay, not only for the man, but also for anyone trying to subdue him.

Doesn't that make sense?

Okay, the bottom line is the chains and shackles did not work.

Didn't work, the man would simply break free.

Now, day after day, he was tormented and walking around the tombs, howling and cutting himself.

I don't know if you're aware, but there's a phenomenon with our young people, our teenagers today has been going on for some years now, called cutting, and what they'll do is they'll take knives or razor blades and make cuts on their arms or on their legs, on all parts of their body, because whenever they do that, the body releases chemicals that cause them to forget about the emotional pain that they're dealing with.

So all they're really doing is trading emotional pain for physical pain, and how many of you know that anything like that, any relief that someone gets from.

That is only temporary, because the root problem is still there.

This man was continually cutting himself.

Now, the local people, they were afraid of him.

The local people were unable to control him.

Now, it's important for us to say at this point that the region that he is in is populated by people mostly not of the Jewish heritage.

Now, that's important because the Jewish people, they didn't associate with non-Jewish people.

But Jesus decided to go to this region on purpose.

I want you to think about that.

It wasn't the norm for the disciples who were of Jewish descent, of Jesus, who was of Jewish descent, to go intentionally to regions that were mostly non-Jewish.

But that's where Jesus went.

The story goes on to tell about the demon-possessed man coming up to Jesus, recognizing Jesus.

See, the demons.

They knew who Jesus was, even when the disciples were still trying to figure all this out.

The demons.

They knew who he was and they asked Jesus to leave them alone.

Imagine that Demons want to be left alone.

Guess what?

They want us to leave them alone today.

That's why the power of Jesus working in and through us is so threatening to them.

That's why the power of Jesus working in and through us is so threatening to them.

Jesus talks to the demon-possessed man and in this conversation Jesus recognizes there's something definitely wrong here.

He asked the demon what is your name?

He asked the demon what is your name?

The demon spoke to Jesus and said my name is Legion, for we are many.

I want you to think about that.

We are many.

When you look back into Roman culture, a legion of Roman soldiers was between 4,000 to 6,000 men.

If this man's demon name is Legion, how many demons are inside of him?

We don't know, but we know it's more than one.

We know there's a bunch, there's a lot, there's a lot of things he's dealing with.

Talk about hearing voices.

Now, I'm being serious about this this.

This is no small thing for a man to walk around howling, oh, cutting himself, running around naked all through the cemetery.

That's not normal.

It shouldn't be anyway.

Okay, it's not normal.

Now I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of mental torture this man is dealing with.

Not only is he dealing with the mental torture, he also has the physical pain from cutting himself.

And if you cut yourself long enough, how many of you know?

There are going to be scars.

And many of us today we have scars.

Some are physical, some are emotional.

We may have both.

They're all very real.

Now, in the conversation here, the demons want to make a deal with Jesus.

They say you know there's a herd of pigs over here, about 2,000 of them.

Give us permission to go into the pigs, don't just cast us out into the country.

Jesus says alright, get.

And the Bible says that immediately they left the man and entered the pigs.

And immediately upon entering the pigs, the pigs went into a complete freak out mode.

The Bible says they ran down a steep embankment and drowned themselves in the sea.

Now that sounds like a really cool story that you know this man's been delivered and everything like that.

But what if you were the owner of the pigs?

You just saw your livelihood run off a cliff, literally For you you're having a bad day and these guys decided that it was time to do something about it.

So when we look over in verse 14 of Mark, chapter 5, it says the herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

As they ran, people rushed out to see what had happened.

A crowd soon gathered around Jesus and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons.

He was sitting there, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.

See, then those who had seen what had happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs, and the crowd began pleading with Jesus go away and leave them alone.

A lot happening in this story.

People rushed out to see for themselves.

How many of you know, when Jesus shows up and starts working, he's going to draw a crowd.

When we show up and allow Jesus to work through us, we have the opportunity to draw a crowd and it's not so that we can say, ooh, look at us, look at our big crowd.

It's to say, ooh, look what God is doing, amen.

Crowd is to say ooh, look what God is doing, amen.

The people saw this formerly crazy, strong, demonic man sitting fully clothed and perfectly sane.

This man had been restored.

That's no small thing.

And at the end of verse 15 there it says they were all afraid.

Now I want you to think about this.

When the demon-possessed man was crazy, they were afraid.

Then, when they show up and he's sane, they're afraid.

How many of you know some folks you just cannot make happy I mean seriously.

Some folks are not going to be happy with the crazy.

Some people are not going to be happy with the sane.

It's just the way it is.

Because they were unable to process the awesome change, the people were afraid and they pled, they begged, and they implored for Jesus to leave.

See, just as Jesus showed up in a huge way in this man's life and the townspeople were asking Jesus to leave.

If we today give in to fear, give in to fear, fear will blind us to what God is doing and wants to do in our lives or in the lives of somebody like this demon-possessed man who desperately needed Jesus to show up.

If you were in that position, would you give a rip if somebody was afraid, or would you just want Jesus to show up?

I would just want Jesus to show up Now.

See, and here's the thing One of the reasons they wanted Jesus to leave was because there were other pigs in the area.

I'm sure they were afraid that if Jesus hung around, their pigs may run off a cliff.

Okay, that sounds kind of funny, but when it's your livelihood, you know.

Okay, you know, I'll let Jesus come in, but don't mess with my money, jesus.

I got this little side thing going over here.

I know it's not exactly legal, but don't be messing with my side thing, because now that's my money.

Come on.

Verse 18 says as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him, but Jesus said no, go home to your family and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.

So the man started off to visit the 10 towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed at what he told them.

A formerly demon-possessed, homeless, formerly naked man decides to listen to what Jesus says.

Now, first of all, it's important for us to realize that when he came begging to go with Jesus, jesus said no.

There are going to be times in our lives when we want to go somewhere or do something, and we're going to know that.

We know that.

We know that Jesus is saying no.

And then we have a choice Are we going to play the two-year-old card and pout or are we going to just say All right, god, I'm going to trust you.

We have to make that decision for ourselves.

Jesus says go and tell your family and the ruins around the region what God has done for you.

And the Bible says that he went to the area and began to proclaim what God had done.

Now, how many of you know that in small town, even when you don't know what you're doing, somebody else does?

Okay, that's a fact.

All right, and here's the thing.

Even if these people had not met this demon possessed man, they'd at least heard about him.

You're not going to believe, man.

We ran into this guy.

He was naked, he didn't have no clothes on, he was crazy, out of his mind.

We put chains on him, shackles on him, and he just said ah, that makes a good story for folks.

Let's just be honest.

People knew about him and because they knew the old him, when the new him showed up, they're like wow, god will do that for us too.

God will do that for us as well.

Now we talked about the handcuffs.

Now I want to look at the hypocrites.

This is going to be fun.

We're going to turn over to the book of John, chapter nine, and we're going to begin with verse one.

It says as Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

Rabbi, his disciples asked him why was this man born blind?

Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins.

It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins.

Jesus answered this happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

Now it's important to note that back in Jesus' day, if somebody was sick, somebody was born blind, born deaf, it was assumed that either they had sinned or their parents had sinned, that the sin was what was causing the judgment of the sickness or the infirmity or the disability whatever term we want to throw on it to be present.

Many people believed that this is how the sickness and stuff took place.

The disciples were asking who was at fault and who caused this man to be blind.

In other words, if he's blind, it's got to be somebody's fault.

Is it his fault or his parents?

Who are we going to blame here?

And Jesus said no, it's neither one of those.

He was born blind, he was born blind and now he's going to be made whole for the glory of God.

See, this is an opportunity.

Some people look at it as a disability.

Some people look at it as something that he's done wrong.

When God is saying no, this is just an opportunity for me.

The story goes on to say that Jesus spits on the ground, rubs it together to make mud and anoints the man's eyes, puts mud on his eyes.

Then he tells him now I want you to go to this particular pool and watch, and when you do, you're going to receive your sight.

So this man does exactly what Jesus told him to do he goes to the pool, he rinses and for the first time in his life, he can see.

Ooh, that's going to be a happy day.

Talk about doing a happy dance.

Now, if I knew how to dance, I would.

He's going to do a happy dance.

Why?

Because he can see.

And, oh yeah, I failed to mention this.

This happened on the Sabbath.

Okay, now your people are going.

So what?

Who cares?

Well, the religious folks care, because, see, spitting on the ground, rubbing your fingers together, that's work, putting mud on somebody's eyes, we're having to do something and then the healing takes place.

Well, we can't have that.

Not on the Sabbath, not on Sunday.

Man, okay, the man is brought in to the church house, but it's not because people are excited about what has happened to him.

He is about to be grilled, wanting to know what happened to you.

He's standing before these church people, the religious folks, and he says look, jesus, spit on the ground, rubbed it together, put mud on my eyes, told me to go wash.

I went and washed.

Now I can see Whoo, isn't that awesome.

And they're like no, it's not awesome.

Where are your parents?

Boy, you're claiming you were born blind.

Where are your parents?

Go get them.

And they went and got the parents, bring the parents in.

Hey, is this your boy?

Yeah, he's my boy.

Was he born blind?

Yeah, he was born blind.

And they still didn't believe him.

But see, here's the thing At this time in church history, the religious folks had said anybody who claims Jesus is who he says he is, we're going to kick you out of the church.

You're going to be excommunicated.

No longer welcome in our little holy huddle.

It's about to get good.

They were brought in to testify.

Now their testimony, along with the man's testimony, created a huge stir within the religious community Because they were divided, because everybody knew that demons weren't going to go around curing people, but they were convinced that Jesus was a dirty dog sinner.

So they were divided.

When the parents are brought in and questioned about their son, they said he is of age to speak for himself.

Basically, what they're saying is I'm afraid of y'all.

I'm afraid of y'all, I don't want to be kicked out of the church, so I'm going to let him talk for himself.

And when we look in verse 24 of chapter 9 of John, this is where we find the young man.

Now, basically, what we find here before I get to that, is the Pharisees are basically holding court.

Okay, all of our religious movers and shakers here.

They're in questioning mode.

Okay, I want you to remember that as we go through this.

So for the second time, they called in the man who had been blind and told him God should get the glory for this, because we know this man, jesus, is a sinner.

I don't know whether he is a sinner.

The man replied, but I know this.

I was blind.

Now I can see.

But what did he do?

They asked how did he heal you?

They just wanted to know.

Look, the man exclaimed.

I told you once didn't you listen?

That's funny to me.

Why do you want to hear it again?

Do you want to become his disciples too?

Then they cursed him and said you are his disciple, but we are disciples of moses.

We know that god spoke to moses because and we don't know where he comes from we know that god doesn't listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.

Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind.

If this man were not from God, he couldn't have done it.

This is where it gets real.

You were born a total sinner, they answered.

Are you trying to teach us?

And they threw him out of the synagogue.

At the center of all of this is that hypocrite spirit.

They are there because someone rubbed mud, put it on somebody's eyes and they were healed.

Yet they're going to take a lot of time out of their day to hold an informal court, because if they were formally in court then they would be working, and you know I'm a good Christian guy, so I can't do that.

See the Pharisees.

They allowed their pride, their fear and insecurities to blind them.

They were saying this guy was blind, when actually they are.

They may have their physical sight, but spiritually they're blind.

They began deflecting and started name-calling.

That's real mature, isn't it?

They said.

The formerly blind man was born a total sinner.

Well, yeah, we all are, and so were they.

That's just the way it is.

Now, instantly upon receiving his sight, I want you to think about this for a second.

Inst instantly upon receiving his sight I want you to think about this for a second.

Instantly upon receiving his sight, he found himself in the middle of the religious movers, shakers and leaders in that community.

He was gone from the one who was sitting over here begging for money to now standing in front of the ones that, in their minds, mattered most.

The Pharisees were being called out, and they didn't like it.

But let's just be honest.

Do any of us really like being called out?

I don't.

Do I need to be called out from time to time?

Absolutely.

Do any of y'all listening today need to be called out from time to time, absolutely?

Sorry, not sorry, that's just the way it is.

But see, here's the thing.

This man told the Pharisees that they refused to hear and accept the truth because they were asking him the same question.

They were just wanting a different answer.

They didn't like the first answer, but they liked the second answer even worse, because they really didn't want anything to do with Jesus.

How sad is that?

How many of you know that in the day and time we live in, there are still many churches that really and truly don't want anything to do with Jesus.

They want their traditions, they want what makes them feel comfortable, but you know what?

Jesus is always the right answer, always.

Now, here's the thing.

This man asked him this question what about the wonderful miracle?

Are y'all blind?

To the fact that I was blind, but now I can see.

What about that?

What about that?

And you know, like I said, it goes back to, this happened on the Sabbath.

That's against the rules.

Can't be doing that.

If we allow ourselves, we too can be blind to how God is at work right in front of us.

These church leaders were not interested in seeing God work as much as they were interested in their appearance before the people.

And that's a sad place and a very scary place to find yourself.

And that's a sad place and a very scary place to find yourself.

It was all about prestige, position and, ultimately, power, because Jesus was about to interfere with their power hold, and that was scary for them.

Jesus threatened all of these areas.

Now, hypocrites y'all know this, but I'm going to say it anyway.

They're the ones that tell their kids not to smoke and then turn around and tell that same kid hey, go get my cigarettes.

They're the ones at the job that tell you don't drink, don't be a drunkard, and then go out and get slobbering drunk, thinking nobody's going to find out or this is about to hit home for somebody.

They're the ones that pretend to be a prayer warrior and, in the name of Jesus, let me tell you what I saw Pastor Jim doing yesterday.

How many of you know that's called gossip?

You're going to gossip in the name of prayer.

Seriously, seriously, oh my goodness.

I'm trying to be nice the way I'm trying to say what I'm about to say.

I just want to serve notice that if anybody comes up to me and says, pastor Jim, we really need to pray for whoever, and I look around and I see whoever in the congregation, I'm going to put my arm around your shoulder, we're going to walk over to whoever that is and I'm going to put my arm around your shoulder.

We're going to walk over to whoever that is and I'm going to say, brother or sister, so and so my friend here thinks that you need prayer.

I'm going to let them explain what they think you need.

I'm just telling you right now.

I've done it once, not here, but in a different church that I attended, and you know what?

Guess what the word got out.

I didn't have anybody else come up to me like that again.

Imagine that.

Imagine that the bottom line is we don't need to gossip Okay, I'm asking you not to gossip around me and bottom line is we don't need to be gossiping at all.

How about, instead, we just simply show the love of Jesus and pray for someone who needs it.

Pretty simple, right.

Don't talk about their shortcomings with others, just lift them up in prayer and give God the opportunity to work.

Give him the opportunity.

If we want to grow as a disciple of Jesus ourselves and as a church body, we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves and we need to ask God what we need to work on.

More specifically and this is going to be hard for some of us to do we need to give God permission to step in and do what he needs to do.

Now understand if God wants to work, he's going to work, whether he has your permission or not, okay.

But when we give Him permission to go to work on us, that can be a very scary thing, because we know those deep, dark, little bitty corners.

You know that we think we've got the curtain and kind of got hidden away that nobody knows about.

And if we say, god, I give you permission to work anywhere in my life, it can be a scary thing Because we know us Right.

A couple of things here.

Maybe we could pray something along the lines of God, give me ears to hear what You're saying to me.

God, give me eyes to see clearly the path you want me to walk.

God, give me the Holy Ghost boldness to go where you want me to go, to do what you want me to do and to say what you want me to say.

And, lord, if I'm to keep my big mouth shut, help me to keep it shut, because not everybody needs my opinion all the time.

And that's just the truth.

All right, we're going to move on.

Lastly, I want us to talk about hurts.

Now.

We've all experienced hurt in our lives, whether it was a friend that has let us down, whether it was somebody, or several somebodies that have told lies about us, or maybe someone that has abandoned us in a time of great need.

How many of you know that it's when the bottom falls out.

All the good stuff is stripped away.

You find out who's really in your corner, you find out who's really going to be your true friend and say hey, I know it's a hard time.

I just want to let you know that I'm here for you.

I don't know if there's anything I can do to help other than just be here, but I'm here.

Amen.

Maybe we didn't get that job that we wanted.

Maybe somebody else got the promotion.

Maybe a relationship that was near and dear to us just blew up and now we've got this serious hole in our heart.

Bottom line is we all deal with hurts.

Now Jesus is our ultimate example, right, mainly because he lived this thing called life perfectly Perfect.

And even in the middle of all of that, there were still people that hurt Jesus.

He still experienced hurt.

A man that he had hand-picked to be his disciple, to walk with him, to listen with him, to be poured into his life, sold him out for money.

Think about that, matthew, chapter 26, says.

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priest and asked how much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?

And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.

And from that time on, judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

30 pieces of silver was the price for selling out my friend.

What's your price today?

$100,000?

, $20?

Maybe just a Happy Meal?

No, there are people that are selling out their friends for very insignificant short-term deals, and it's sad.

Judas even came up and gave Jesus a kiss on the side of the face as a sign of whom the religious people were supposed to arrest.

Jesus was betrayed by a man who he had poured into for three years, who had been right there in the middle of all the good things that Jesus had done, all the stuff that was going on.

He was privileged to be one of the ones who saw every single bit of it, and still he turned on his friend for a little bit of cash.

Another close friend of Jesus claimed he was willing to die for him, but then later denied he had any affiliation at all.

I want you to think about that.

Who do you have in your life that's going to tell you man, I am with you through thick or thin, it doesn't matter what goes on, I'm by your side.

Well, let's look over in Matthew 26, verse 31.

Matthew 26:31

And it says, on the way Jesus told them Tonight all of you will desert me, for the Scriptures say God will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered, but after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee and meet you there.

Peter declared even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.

Jesus replied I tell you the truth, peter.

This very night before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.

No, peter insisted even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you.

And all the other disciples vowed the same Strong words They'd been with Jesus.

Now, peter was one of the quote top three the inner inner circle of Jesus, the quote top three, the inner inner circle of Jesus.

And Peter was a little outspoken.

Okay, he was the bold one in the group, there's no doubt about that and he's the one who's stepping up and saying I got your back, I got you, you can count on me.

Peter and all the other disciples declared their loyalty to Jesus and all of them ran away as Jesus was being arrested.

Jesus was left alone as a multitude of people told lies about him, physically beat him and condemned him to die for a crime he did not commit.

That's a lot to deal with on your own, and that's where Jesus found himself.

He found himself.

Jesus found himself.

He found himself all by himself, and while Jesus was on trial, while he is being grilled by the religious people over in Matthew, chapter 26,.

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

We're going to jump down to verse 69.

This is where it picks up.

It says Meanwhile, peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.

A servant girl came over and said to him you were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.

But Peter denied it in front of everyone.

I don't know what you're talking about.

He said that's one.

Later on, by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around this man was with Jesus of Nazareth.

Again, peter denied it, but this time with an oath.

I don't even know the man.

He said that's twice.

A little later, some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said you must be one of them.

We can tell by your Galilean accent.

Peter swore a curse on me.

If I'm lying, I don't know the man.

And immediately the rooster crowed.

Suddenly, jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.

And he went away, weeping bitterly.

Peter and the other disciples, they had the best of intentions and I'm sure they truly believed what they were telling Jesus.

Jesus was hurt because of being betrayed.

Of being betrayed.

Peter was hurt because he had failed Jesus, his friend, three times.

Peter's failure happened exactly the way Jesus told him it would.

The end of verse 75 says and he, peter, went away weeping bitterly.

Now, when you think about weeping bitterly, when I think about that, I think about ugly crying.

I mean the kind of crying that just comes from so deep down.

You got the snot coming out your nose.

Tears are everywhere.

You're just a complete mess.

That's where Peter found himself.

That's where he found himself.

See, the reality was that Peter realized that he was weak and he had left his friend.

And that reality hit hard, and it hit fast.

After Jesus had been crucified, died, buried and resurrected from the dead, he came back and he did something that I guarantee none of the disciples were expecting.

In Luke, chapter 21, jesus appeared to His disciples on the shore of the sea and he fixed them breakfast.

Luke 21 · chapter mention

How many of you know that had to have been one awesome breakfast fixed on breakfast?

How many of you know that had to have been one awesome breakfast?

If Jesus, the Savior of the world, creator, is going to fix you breakfast.

I guarantee you it's going to be a top-notch breakfast.

Okay, it's going to be awesome.

So Jesus did not hold on to the hurt.

Jesus forgave the disciples and he didn't hold it over their heads.

Have you ever had somebody say, well, I forgive you for what you did, and then a week later, you remember what you did to me.

I'm still hurting, I'm cut deep because remember what you did to me.

I'm still hurting, I'm cut deep because of what you did to me, but I forgive you Really, really.

After breakfast, jesus asked Peter three times Do you love me?

We look at Luke, chapter 21, verses 15 through 17, and this is what it says.

Luke 21:15–17

After breakfast, jesus asked Simon Peter Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

Yes, lord Peter replied, you know I love you.

Then, feed my lambs More than these.

Yes, lord Peter replied, you know I love you.

Then feed my lambs, jesus told him.

Jesus repeated the question Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Yes, lord Peter said you know that I love you.

Take care of my sheep, jesus said.

A third time.

He asked him Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time he said Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.

Jesus said then, feed my sheep sheep.

Now verse 17 shows us here.

Peter was hurt that Jesus was asking him three times do you love me?

Now I'm sure Peter was thinking, oh great, he's holding it over my head.

Remember that time when you said you was going to be there for me, boy.

Now, how many times was it I told you you were going to deny me One?

Yeah, it was three, wasn't it Three?

Wasn't that what I told you?

Is that what Jesus did?

No, is that what Jesus did?

No, see, jesus wasn't rubbing in Peter's face the fact of his failure.

Jesus was reinstating Peter as a leader.

Peter, up until this point, the last of his interaction with Jesus was his denial.

Now Jesus is saying I've got a job for you, son, I've got a job for you.

What happened has happened.

We can't undo the past, but it's time for us to move forward and, as a result of Peter moving forward, literally thousands of people, thousands of people came to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Peter who was once scared and ran away, stood up to the religious people and said up to the religious people and said I'm going to talk about Jesus, whether you like it or not.

And when he did, people responded it wasn't in Peter's own strength, it was in the strength of the Holy Spirit that was working through Peter.

I'm about to preach myself happy.

I'm about to preach myself happy.

Here's the thing God never, ever, wastes a hurt.

God can use the hurts that you and I have experienced and turn them into help for others.

It can be done.

When others around us are hurting, we can say, hey, let me tell you about a time when Jesus came through for me.

God can use your hurt to give someone else hope.

Think about that, let that sink in.

God can use your hurt to offer somebody else hope.

Your hurt could be their lifeline.

We need to be willing to step out of our comfort zones and allow God to use us.

We need to quit making excuses of why we can't be used by God.

Let me tell you something.

The devil wants to remind you of your past.

He wants to remind you of your failures and say You're not worth talking to anybody about God.

Look at the mess you've made of your life.

Let me tell you something that is the lie of the enemy.

He doesn't want you telling others about what God has done for you, because he's scared of your story.

God is scared when you stand on his stage and sing for him.

The devil is scared of that.

Don't ever let him win.

The devil is scared when we allow him to rule over our lives with fear.

Don't let him win.

A demon-possessed man had a criminal record, mental issues dealt with, homelessness and nakedness.

A man born blind had a disability.

Peter had a big mouth and a big ego.

God used every one of them.

He used to shine the glory of God to others.

Paul tells us over in 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 10.

2 Corinthians 12:10

That's why I take pleasure in my weakness and in the insults, the hardships, persecutions and troubles that I suffer for Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

It's at that point that we become strong, because what the world tells us is a weakness, god can turn into a strength.

Why?

Because when we are weak, we know we need help and when we need help, we are more likely to lean on God.

Goodness gracious Come to tell.

God wants to give you opportunities to share your story with someone who needs some encouragement.

Our world needs someone who cares.

There are people in your life that just need to know you.

Give a flip about them.

Be willing to be that voice.

Let God use you.

Step out of your comfort zone.

But I'm scared.

Okay, be scared and step out anyway.

Okay, it's okay.

Okay, be scared and step out, anyway, it's okay.

Just be real with people.

Tell them look, I don't have it all figured out.

I'm still on this journey myself and I still blow it every day, but I'm trying, I'm listening to God and I'm doing my best.

Do I fall on my face?

Yes, sometimes I fall on my face, but I get back up.

Why?

Because when I get back up, then I'm able to move forward and God wants us to be moving forward.

Just explain to people that God simply wants to be first place in your life, and when we put God first place in our lives, incredible things happen.

Your story may be you know I used to have a problem with alcohol.

Let me tell you what God did for me.

Your story may be you know I used to have a problem with alcohol.

Let me tell you what God did for me.

Your story may be hey, I used to have an issue with drugs.

Let me tell you what God did for me.

Your story may be.

I was broke, busted and disgusted.

I was so broke I couldn't even pay attention.

Let me tell you what God is doing for me.

God can take your hurts and give others hope.

God can take your blown opportunities and turn them around.

Don't use your past as an excuse to God for not stepping out.

Don't do that.

Don't let hypocrites keep you from making progress.

And let's just be honest real quick.

We talked a little bit about hypocrites and we get on the Pharisees justly because they were hypocrites.

But is there anybody in here that can raise your hand today and say I have never, ever been a hypocrite?

I'm going to put my hands down deep in my pockets Because at any given time, we can all be hypocrites, can we not?

That's not God's best for us, that's not what God wants for us.

And don't allow the hurts that you have experienced to keep you down.

God can use you, god.

God can use you.

God wants to use you.

The question comes down to this Are you going to make yourself available?

I'm going to be honest with you.

I've got no business at all being on this stage.

I know how I blow it every single day, but you know what, like I said earlier, I don't have it all figured out, I'm still on the journey myself, but I'm allowing God to use me where he can, or at least I'm trying to.

You know, it may be just one person that God has for you to touch and you may be saying one person, is it that big of a deal If that one person was a family member that you've been praying for for the last 10, 15, 20 years, would it be worth it to you for somebody to step out of their comfort zone and talk to your family member?

Yes, we don't know the difference that God can make in somebody's life unless we give him a chance he may listen to your voice when he's not listening to anybody else's over here.

Allow God to use you.

God wants to use your story.

He wants to use your gifts, your talents, your hurts, your hangups.

He wants to use all of that to make a difference for his glory.

The only question is this are you going to allow him to?

I hope you do.

Let's pray, heavenly Father.

We just thank you today, father.

I thank you.

Do let's pray, heavenly Father.

We just thank you today, father.

I thank you for your word, father.

If there was anything that was said of me today, let it be quickly forgotten, but anything that was of you, lord, let it go down deep in our spirits.

Father, just give us ears to hear what you would have us to hear, eyes to see clearly the path you want us on, and a Holy Ghost, boldness to step out and do what you've called us to do.

We give you glory, honor and praise, and it's in Jesus' name we pray, and everyone said Amen.