Brokenness And Integrity

As one of my pastorly or fatherly duties this past week, the kids said, hey dad, it's kind

! of hot outside. Can you please put up the pool? Now, I have to understand it's one of those Walmart

! Specials, okay? And I think they designed them intentionally so that in a year or two of use,

they'll need to be either completely replaced or repaired to such a degree you get frustrated

and you throw up your hands and you say, I'm done with this. Well, the pool that we have is like

that experience where two years ago was the last time that we actually used this pool when we were

living in Chillicothe and last summer, as you remember, we were kind of in transition as a

family and still living in Chillicothe but looking to move a little closer to Maranatha and that pool

was sitting in our shed there in Chillicothe kind of awaiting this special week of being able to set

it up and swim. As I was pulling it out of the box and helping to kind of stretch things out, I noticed

that a rodent had made it a special snack at some point along the time in the last two years and what

I was hoping would be a great time of refreshment turned into a little bit of work initially.

As we were kind of looking at it and inspecting it initially, I said, hey, you know, six or eight

holes, no big deal. Man, you guys are so smart! You know exactly where this story is going.

Well, you set up the pool and you start patching holes and fortunately we had another pool that we

could kind of cut material out of and, you know, it's a 12-foot bottom pool and we could kind of

cut some material out of that and stick it on the current pool. Well, six holes turned into 26.

But that's okay. That's okay. We got it. We got it repaired. We put the patches on. We started

turning on the water. We had to wait for 24 hours because it takes 24 hours for the bond to set and

we want to make sure all this hard work was not going to yield zilcho for us. So we waited for the

time and we started filling up the pool and we started noticing little trickles of water.

Now, in the grass, it probably wouldn't be a big deal, but we decided we didn't want to kill the

grass, so we put it in the patio area next to our home. And so it's really important that the water

doesn't leak because then it gets next to the foundation and things start to buckle and no,

it's not going to be a good deal. So we had to make sure that the holes were fixed. Well, somebody had

the bright idea that we would put the trampoline, or excuse me, the pool on top of our trampoline

so that we could kind of see where the water was leaking. That actually didn't turn out to be so bad.

Okay. So we saw, oh, you know, this patch, it was okay, but not great. And this, oh, we didn't notice

that there were some other holes over here. And so we kind of identified the holes, we circled them,

and we put it back on the patio and we did some more patching. Now we're up to about 40

patches on the inside of the pool and on the exterior. 24 hours goes by, we're feeling satisfied.

We knew we got the, we had identified at least the area where the leaks were because at least we had

this part elevated and there weren't any, wasn't any more water coming towards the house. Well,

we hadn't identified all the leaks. There was more patching to do. And as the sun kind of shone

through the bottom of the area that was elevated, we noticed several more punctures and several more

pinholes and there was more patching to do. Well, here we are on Sunday morning and I'm happy to report

to you, there's more leaks in the pool. But we've given up at this point and we're swimming anyway.

Fixing a pool this week reminded me of the significance of integrity. It reminded me of the,

of the importance of soundness and wholeness in a life, in a pool. You can't have 99.9% of the surface

area of a pool having good integrity and expect that you're not going to have any problems with that

0.1%. Just one or two small punctures or leaks in the pool are going to result in catastrophe.

Especially when you're talking about 3,800 gallons of water sitting right next to your house.

It's not a recipe for, for, for good things. It's a recipe for disaster.

This morning as we, as we take a look at our passage in John chapter 18, we, we, we take an,

John 18 · chapter mention

another step on the journey to the cross. And through our time together, as, as we're looking at Jesus

and, and moving through this narrative, as John is developing this for us, he seeks to bring to the

forefront the clear character of Jesus. We're going to see front and center this morning, Jesus,

a man of integrity. Contrasted by Peter in this narrative, who is a man of insecurity. And we'll

take a look at that later on. Now, on this morning, Father's Day, as we look at these two bright examples

of manhood in the New Testament, certainly Jesus shining with unmatched brilliance in terms of

manhood in the New Testament, we can't help but notice that, that Peter was quite useful and fruitful

in the book of Acts in helping to establish the New Testament church. It was Peter to whom Jesus says,

on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not be able to stand against it.

Now, certainly when Jesus was referring to Peter, he was, he was referring to the truth of the

scripture. He was referring to the, the words that Jesus would, or that Peter would share

in relationship to the person of Christ. But all coming together and, and helping to, to fit together

with the leadership that Peter brought to the New Testament church. The leadership that he brought

there to this new church era that takes place throughout the book of Acts. And as you look at the

end picture of the end picture of the life of Peter, you say, this is a man's man. This is a person to be like.

And yet what we'll see today is the, the way of the cross is not just the way of integrity.

What we'll see this morning is the way of the cross is the way of brokenness.

It's the way of being exposed. It's the way of coming to grips with the underlying issues

of a life. Now, now my swimming pool wasn't going to be any help unless I had identified the issues

and fixed the issues. And any of you men here this morning who, who want to be a leader in your home,

any of you men here this morning who want to be effective in the sphere in which God has placed

you, whether you're in some sort of field of occupation or, or you wield some area of responsibility

and leadership. If you want to be effective, if you want to be fruitful, you need to be broken.

Peter comes front and center with that message as we work our way through the, the next several

verses of John chapter 18. John helps us in this narrative to, to really, uh, come between

John 18 · chapter mention

and see the contrast, the significance of an integrity in brokenness as he, as he introduces

us to some new players and as he helps us to see new features of, of old characters, characters

we've come to love and appreciate through our study of the gospel of John. Let me read for

us just the, the first verse, John chapter 18. We'll be looking this morning at verses

John 18 · chapter mention

12 to 27, but beginning in verse 12. It says this,

So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound

him. First, they led him to Annas for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest

that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man

should die for the people. Now this morning, as we take a look at this, at the events of this

narrative, I, I want to introduce you to the story. And I, I want you to, to understand the,

the interchange of the individuals in this passage. And then towards the end, we'll, we'll begin to

make some points about what we see here playing out before us. So first of all, I just want to give

us an introduction to the high priest. Maybe you've never heard the name Annas before. Certainly we've

been introduced to the person of Caiaphas. But who was this man Annas? And, and why is he introduced to us

in this chain of events? Why would the soldiers and the officers of the temple lead Jesus to Annas

first? Well, Annas was, was the father-in-law to Caiaphas. Annas was the high priest from AD 6 to AD 15.

He was deposed by the previous governor, the, the, the man who was the governor before Pilate, because

this Roman governor found him deplorable, found him detestable. So he, so he removed Annas from his

office and he gave it to Caiaphas. Well, there are a number of things that made Annas intolerable.

Little to mention his relationship with the Roman government, but, but he was a person of greed.

He was a person who, who was proud. A person who thought only of himself. And although he had been

a high priest before, it was normally something that, uh, once a high priest, always a high priest.

But in that day and age, similar to what we find here in, in the United States, once you have a title

of honor, like the president of the United States, it's a, it's a title that, that people address you

with for the rest of your life. Well, Annas, as having served as a high priest before and then wielding

a tremendous amount of influence in this culture, continues to maintain a level of authority in that day

and age. Annas was ambitious and, as I said, notoriously greedy. This would have been a

particularly lucrative time for Annas during this Passover feast, the festivities happening during

this week. During this week, Annas would have received some of the, the proceeds of, of the animals

that were sold there in the temple square. As people came to offer their money and purchase

an animal for sacrifice, not being able to bring it with them on this long journey, particularly

from Galilee, Annas would have, would have benefited from the proceeds of, of that exchange. And then as

these, as these people come into Jerusalem and they're bringing their, their currency from, from their own

region, the Jews had determined that the only currency that would work in Jerusalem was Jewish

currency. So the exchange had to be made. And, and the exchange rates were set very high. Again, as a

taxation to the people and as a way to line the pockets of this high priest. So greedy was this man

that the, that the, that the, the place where the transactions took place was known as the, as the

bazaar of Annas. This was a lucrative time for him. And Jesus was a threat, not only to his ability to

continue to line his pockets, but, but he saw Jesus, remember Jesus coming in after the triumphal entry and

cleaning house in the temple. Jesus was a threat to Annas directly. We find here that, that Jesus is

brought to Annas' house. We can make that assumption based upon a couple of things. First, we see that,

that guarding the door in this later part of this narrative is, is a servant girl who is essentially

checking this face recognition of the, of the first century, checking people as they make their way into

this courtyard. Peter didn't make the cut. But the fact that a, that a girl was guarding the door

indicates this was not happening on the temple square, the temple grounds, what was happening

in the private residence of Annas, probably shared with his son-in-law, Caiaphas.

Now, Caiaphas was the official high priest during that year. Again, it was an office that they would,

that they would have and maintain through the course of their life, unless an authority stepped in and

changed the game. But here, Caiaphas is, is the spokesman and, and really the, the major player in, in all that

is taking place. And we find his account in, in, in the other gospel records. Caiaphas will see Jesus

directly after the time with Annas. John has already introduced us to this man, Caiaphas. He's, he's

mentioned his name back in John chapter 11. Now, now remember what was happening in John chapter 11 was,

John 11 · chapter mention John 11 · chapter mention

that was when Lazarus was raised from the dead. And during that time, many of the Jews, especially

those who, who, who were part of the religious establishment, were, were beginning to wonder,

is Jesus really the person that he claims to be? And as a result of this amazing miracle that Jesus

performs, many in this, the, the upper echelon of Jewish leadership were, were believing in Jesus.

Caiaphas, Caiaphas saw this as a threat. Caiaphas understood that this was significant in terms of,

of drawing the, the people's hearts away from the priests themselves. And he makes a statement in

John chapter 11. He says, he says to, to the, to the people who are gathering with him, you know

John 11 · chapter mention

nothing at all, he says, nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die

for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. Caiaphas is trying to rally the troops.

He recognizes that the, that the, that the, the rising prominence of Jesus in Jerusalem is not only

becoming a threat, but might just be the opportunity he's looking for. Perhaps he can rally the rest of

the Jews to, to come to appreciate that, that then the nation of Israel was, was now at risk. As Rome saw a

potential threat to, to their power and Jesus' rising prominence in the city, perhaps he could use that as a way

to turn that against Jesus and actually get the Roman government to put him to death.

But why the important details of Annas and of Caiaphas here at the start of this story? It's to help us

understand that, that the resistance and rejection of Jesus happened at the highest levels of Israel's

spirituality. At the highest levels of those who, who should have helped the people recognize their

Messiah, the spiritual leaders within their own system, they are the ones, the very ones, not only to

reject Messiah, but to initiate this process of bringing him to death. Now John changes scenes from

the general depiction of what is taking place and, and the situation where, where all of this is happening

now looking at the details where we see the interest of Peter and John. And that's our second point this

morning, the interest of Peter and John in verses 15 to 18. It says, Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did

another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the

courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood outside the door, so the other disciple who was known to the

high priest went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door and brought Peter in.

The servant girl at the door said to Peter, you also are not one of the man's disciples, are you?

He said, I am not. Now the servant and the officers had made a charcoal fire because it was cold and they

were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them standing and warming himself.

I want us to see the interest of Peter and John now as they become players in this story.

Simon Peter says, follow Jesus. And as we find from the other gospel accounts that he followed him,

but he did so at a distance. He kind of trailed in the shadows, on the fringe, to make sure,

that he wouldn't be discovered. But you've got to appreciate the loyalty of Peter and John at this

point. Jesus had predicted hours before that the man would scatter, his disciples would scatter at the

first sign of trouble. Jesus had told them emphatically, all of you will be made to stumble

because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock

will be scattered. And certainly that is what happened. Jesus is arrested, the disciples flee,

and now after some time has been taken to settle in their hearts and kind of wipe away a bit of the

fear, Peter and John now are making their way, following at a distance, to see, as Matthew says,

what would be the end of Jesus. A bit of loyalty, a bit of curiosity, and here they are following

on the fringe. I don't know if you're aware of this, but on at least two occasions on this night,

Peter states emphatically, Jesus, I don't care what you say about the other disciples,

they might abandon you, but I will never abandon you. Once at the dinner table, and if you turn over

with me to John chapter 13, a couple of pages, you'll see this for yourself. In John chapter 13,

John 13 · chapter mention John 13:36–38

verses 36 to 38, notice what it says. They're still at the dinner table. They have not yet left the upper

room. That doesn't happen until the end of chapter 14, where Jesus says, rise, let us go from here.

They're still at the table, and Peter and Jesus have this interchange, beginning in verse 36.

Simon Peter says to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, where I'm going, you cannot follow,

but you will follow afterward. Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down

my life for you. Jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you,

the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

It happens once at the dinner table. It also happens once they're in the garden of Gethsemane,

on the Mount of Olives. There it happens again, as we find in Matthew chapter 26, verses 33 to 34.

Matthew 26:33–34

Matthew 26, 33 to 34 says, Peter answers,

even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble. I am stronger than

that, Lord. I can do it. I can make it happen. I will follow you. Even if these guys tuck tail and run,

I will stay true to you. His bravado and arrogance would be accentuated by the fact that it happens not

just once that night, but twice in the same night. He comes against the very words of Jesus,

his Savior, his God, and rejects the testimony of Christ, saying, I will do this on my own strength.

I will make it happen.

We find here in the details of this narrative,

John is able to make his way right in through the gate.

Somehow he has some connection with the high priest and the high priest family.

Peter is made to stand on the outside without the ability to come in until John comes and

and welcomes him through the gate. And that is the first time of trouble for him.

Servant girl at the door says to Peter in verse 17,

you also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?

He says, Peter says, what are those words there? Look at them.

Maybe even underline them.

He says, I am not.

Those words are meant to be highlighted and featured for us.

We've been working our way through the gospel of John and on at least seven occasions we have heard

Jesus state, I am.

I am the resurrection and the life.

I am the way, the truth, and the life.

I am the good shepherd.

Seven times Jesus says, I am.

And in the preceding, the moments that just preceded this account,

Jesus says, I am on at least two other occasions.

On one of those occasions, the crowd falls to the ground.

Not.

And here Peter says, I am not.

John wants us to see the contrast of Peter and Christ coming to the surface.

Rising right to the forefront.

There is a stark contrast.

And Peter is not just denying his relationship to Jesus.

Peter is denying Jesus himself.

One commentator says this,

boasting of our abilities is an invitation to failure.

Peter, that is exactly what Peter discovered.

To him who thinks he stands, take heed lest you fall.

Peter needed to come front and center with his own weakness.

Jesus gives him that opportunity or God gives him that opportunity here in the moments leading up to Jesus' crucifixion.

Peter, who had stated emphatically, I will never betray you,

here in this moment, denies Jesus for the first time.

We find in verse 18,

Now the servants and officials made a fire because it was cold.

Peter was also with them standing and warming himself.

Perhaps hoping that he could escape the situation a little bit and find some comfort in the fire,

makes his way over to another group of individuals who are warming themselves by the fire.

And what is not inherent in this story,

but we come to see punctuated later on in the story,

is that at this particular point of time,

in the Passover time in Jerusalem,

the daytime would have been warm,

just the nighttime would have been cold.

It helps us to understand and supports the idea,

as we'll see later on,

that all of these proceedings were happening in the dead of night.

All of these things were happening during the cover of darkness.

The significance of this, as we'll look at a little later,

is that these proceedings from the very beginning were illegal according to Jewish law.

They never should have happened in the secrecy or the cover of night.

That's exactly when we find this taking place.

We're providing another contrast to the shining integrity to Jesus.

We now move to verses 19 and 24.

We see Jesus' blazing integrity coming to the surface again.

It says in 19,

The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

Jesus answered him,

I've spoken openly to the world.

I have always taught in the synagogues and in the temple.

Where all the Jews have come together,

I have said nothing in secret.

Here, the high priest is questioning Jesus.

Annas is questioning Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.

Now, when I read through that the first time,

it just struck me,

why question about the disciples?

What's the issue there?

Why is that a big deal?

Now, certainly questions had come Jesus' way

through the entirety of his ministry.

The scribes and the Pharisees were the leading contenders

in terms of challenging Jesus' ministry.

We find at the very beginning,

they question his ability or his authority to forgive sin.

They question his activities on the Sabbath day.

They question his association with sinners and tax collectors.

At every point, Jesus silenced them

and there was no way for them to respond.

Certainly, there was nothing worthy of death

in Jesus' life.

But here,

Annas begins to question Jesus

about his disciples and about his teaching.

And underlying those questions

is the implication

or the insinuation

that what Jesus is teaching

is leading to a rebellion

in the hearts of the people

who are following after him.

They couldn't find fault in Jesus

in terms of his character.

They couldn't find fault in Jesus

in terms of his teaching itself.

They had challenged him numerous occasions

and Jesus had proven to be able

to refute their questions.

But maybe,

maybe, just maybe,

we can capitalize on his growing popularity.

Remember, just a few days before,

Jesus walks in or rides in

to the city of Jerusalem.

This triumphal entry

back in John chapter 11,

John 11 · chapter mention

John chapter 12.

John 12 · chapter mention

The crowds are enthusiastically

coming with Jesus into the city

and they're saying,

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord,

even the King of Israel.

Maybe,

they could capitalize on the electricity

of the people.

Their enthusiasm for the Messiah.

Here, Jesus has been teaching

day after day in the temple.

People are getting up early

and going to bed late,

waiting for Jesus to teach

there in the temple grounds

day after day,

Monday and Tuesday

and Wednesday and Thursday.

And maybe now,

they could catch Jesus

in some plot to become king.

That might just be

just enough

to take to the Roman government,

the Roman authorities,

and put this man to death.

This would be the feature

that even Pilate would focus on.

If you look here

in verse 33 of chapter 18,

what is the leading question

that Pilate poses to Jesus?

Jesus,

are you

the king

of the Jews?

They had thought

to question Jesus

and

to trap him

in some sort

of

sentences

or statements

that he would make

so they could

take that to

the Roman authorities

and have their

ability

to finally put Jesus

to death.

But everything

about these proceedings

was illegal

from start to finish.

As I mentioned,

the cover of night

was illegal

in terms

of the Jewish law.

The Jewish law

demanded

that witnesses

be tried

during the day

in public view

rather than

the secrecy

of the night.

It was illegal

that a verdict

should be reached

before a trial

was actually made.

And it's clear

during these proceedings

that a verdict

had already been reached

by Annas and Caiaphas

and they were just

trying to work

their way

to a conclusion,

to an indictment.

That's why

John is bringing

this statement

to us

in the first few verses,

especially there

in verse 14.

It was Caiaphas

who had advised

the Jews

that it would be

expedient

that one man

should die

for the people.

They had already

made their determination.

It was just

how they could get

Jesus

to incriminate

himself.

But the strongest

indication

that we see here

is the lack

of testimony.

In a formal

Jewish hearing

in the first century,

it was illegal

to question

the defendant,

but that the evidence

should rest,

the weight of the testimony

should rest

on the witnesses

who were brought.

But there are

no witnesses.

And Jesus

is careful

to point that out.

He says that here

in verse 21.

Why do you ask me?

Ask those

who have heard me

what I said to them.

They know

what I have said.

Jesus

wants to draw

attention

to the fact

that everything

that he has spoken

throughout his

earthly ministry

has been spoken

in an open

and public way.

whether he was

in Galilee

or Judea,

the start

of his ministry

and now

at the conclusion,

to the great

crowds

in the wilderness

and those

who gathered

there in the temple,

in the public

and also

the private forums

that Jesus taught,

in the common places,

but also

the renowned places.

Jesus states,

I have lived

my life

in the open.

I have existed

in the public eye.

You've seen me.

I've not been hiding

in the shadows.

I have nothing

to hide from you.

I have a life

of integrity.

And the crowd,

they can tell you

what I've said.

Where are they?

The person

who now begins

to be on trial

is not Jesus.

But Jesus

helps

Annas

and the rest

of those

who are

overseeing

this mock trial

to recognize

they're the ones

who are really

on trial.

It's their

integrity

that's at question.

It's these

proceedings

that identify

and again

stand against

in contrast

with the purity

and the integrity

of Jesus himself.

No one can

respond to this

except in frustration

as an officer

strikes him

with the back

of his hand.

Annas is

speechless,

unable

to say a word

and in frustration

sends Jesus

on to his son-in-law

Caiaphas.

Hopefully Caiaphas

will be able

to do something

with this man

because he certainly

was unable

to get Jesus

to confess

to anything.

And now the scene

transitions back

to Peter.

We've seen

the integrity

of Jesus

and now

we can see

the insecurity

of Peter

in verses 25

to 27.

Now Simon Peter

was standing

and warming

himself

so they said

to him

you also

are not one

of his disciples

are you?

Familiar question?

Familiar statement?

He denied it

and said

I am not.

One of the servants

of the high priest

a relative

of the man

whose ear

Peter had cut off

asked

did I not see you

in the garden

with him?

Peter again

denied it

and at once

a rooster crowed.

And to fill out

what takes place

directly following

this event

Luke

in chapter 22

verse 61

says

the Lord turned

and looked at Peter

in that moment

then Peter remembered

the word of the Lord

how he had said

to him

before the rooster crows

you will deny me

three times

so Peter went out

and wept

bitterly.

Fear gripped

Peter's heart

this confidence

disintegrated

to insecurity

this sense

of loyalty

to Christ

evaporated

into

loyalty

to self

we have to

ask ourselves

the question

anytime we

read something

in scripture

why

is this

included?

Why does

the gospel writer

decide to put

this

here?

And not only

in the gospel

of John

but also

in the gospel

of Matthew

and Mark

and Luke

for all

the world

anyone

who

comes to

Christ

in faith

and has

a copy

of the scriptures

in hand

will read

for themselves

the failure

of this

man

Peter

why

would God

decide to put

this account

here for us

to read

this morning?

I believe

the reason

is this

it's because

to reinforce

the fact

the way

of the cross

is the way

of brokenness

the way

of the cross

is the way

of humility

the way

of the cross

is the way

of coming

to grips

with your own

frailty

so that you

can embrace

the strength

of your savior

Peter

was not

going to be

the rock

until Peter

was broken

Peter

was not

going to be

the leader

in Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

of these

disciples

and those

who gathered

in the early

church

until Peter

came to grips

with his frailty

and came to

depend

and rely

on the strength

of God

himself

the blazing

testimony

of Jesus

his integrity

interwoven

in the story

with Peter

now

stands

as a backdrop

to Peter's

insecurity

of his denial

the bold

public

ministry

of Jesus

sets itself

against the

private

and fearful

heart

of Peter

Peter's

denial

was not

just

a fulfillment

of scripture

it was

certainly

a fulfillment

of scripture

Peter's

denial

was not

just

to indicate

personal

weakness

in his

life

which

certainly

it did

not just

a picture

of human

frailty

but

it was

an illustration

of what

God

must do

to make

us

useful

do you

want to

be useful

for the

savior

today

do you

want to

be fruitful

and effective

for God

in the

ministry

in your

family

in the

workplace

you need

to be

surrendered

to the

breaking

power

of God

to expose

the holes

in your

life

so that

he can

bring repair

so that

he can

bring

integrity

so he

can bring

usefulness

to your

life

up to

that point

Jewishness

was about

striving

it was

about

obtaining

it was

about

performing

now

Jewishness

would be

about

submitting

and abiding

in the

indwelling

strength

of the

spirit

all things

which

Jesus

had

faithfully

recounted

during

this

night

to his

disciples

and Peter

had to

come to

the end

of himself

so he

could come

face to

face

with his

need

for divine

strength

and then

be useful

as

the one

who would

be used

by God

to help

begin

the new

church era

well

fortunately

for Peter

and fortunately

for us

Peter's

story doesn't

end here

in John

John 18:27

chapter 18

verse 27

the narrative

of Peter

continues

and we

see

especially

towards the

end of

the gospel

of John

we see

that there

is a

restoration

for this

man

there is

forgiveness

there is

cleansing

there is

wholeness

there is

indwelling

of the

spirit

and there

is abundant

fruit

that comes

through his

life

Peter's

story can

be your

story

if you're

willing

to be

broken

today

I know

as men

and as

fathers

we want

our

families

to think

we've got

it all

together

we've got

it all

figured out

we don't

need anyone's

help

but the

message for

us as we

look at the

life of

Peter

we come

to understand

that if we're

going to

really be

people

men

and fathers

and mothers

and children

who are fruitful

for the

kingdom

we will

be people

who are

willing to

be broken

for the

kingdom

the way

of Christ

was the

way of

sweet

sustained

dependence

on the

father

that's what

led to a

life of

integrity

and

consistency

and purity

in Jesus

that's what

leads to

integrity

and consistency

and fruitfulness

in you

dependence

on the

father

just hours

before Jesus

had stated

to his

disciples

abide in

me

and I

in you

as the

branch

cannot bear

fruit without

the vine

for apart

from me

you can

do nothing

just like

our pool

we'll never

uncover

all the

leaks

but by

God's

grace

as we

allow

ourselves

to be

exposed

as we

open

ourselves

up to

the

careful

and tender

inspection

of our

savior

he will

identify

the areas

of our

life

that need

to be

corrected

and he

will

make us

useful

and

redeemed

and forgiven

even in

spite of

the frailty

that we

bring to

the table

that is

good news

today

let's

pray

lord this

morning as

we come

to this

passage

where we

praise you

for

the blazing

integrity

of our

savior

jesus

who actually

turns the

tables on

those who

are interrogating

him and

helps him

understand

the corruption

of the

whole

proceedings

that were

taking

place

thank you

for

the purity

and holiness

and integrity

of our

god

and lord

thank you

for the

example of

peter

a man

who was

so useful

for you

towards the

end of his

life but

had to be

broken

in order

to be

fruitful

and lord

this morning

wherever we

might be

we pray

that you

would do

that work

for us

that there

would be

receptivity

on our

end

a willingness

to be

exposed

a willingness

to come out

of the

shadows

a willingness

for you

to reveal

to our

own hearts

the areas

where we

need your

help

so that we

can be

fruitful

and useful

and effective

for you

God

we praise

you

for your

faithful

mercy

that is new

every morning

and we praise

you for these

things in Jesus

name

amen

amen

amen

amen

amen

amen

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