Okay, open your Bibles if you
would to Mark Chapter 9 and Luke Chapter 9. Mark Chapter 9 and
Luke Chapter 9. We'll be reading parallel passages.
The name of the message is The Way of Peter. The Way of Peter. Now I'm not going to be picking
on Peter, but we're going to be looking at some things that
Peter did. And personally I see myself in
Peter. And I see myself also in some
of the other biblical characters, don't you? We see ourselves in
the way they reacted to certain situations, the way that they
were. We may not see all of ourself
in a specific character in scripture, but there's definitely tendencies
that we have because we're all men and women. We're all human. And so there's similar characteristics
that we have with others. Mark chapter 9 and Luke chapter
9, we'll read Mark chapter 9 verse 1 to 10. And he said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, there be some of them that stand here
which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom
of God come with power. And after six days, Jesus taketh
with him Peter and James and John, and leadeth them up unto
a high mountain, apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before
them. He got a little glimpse of his glory, a little glimpse. And his remnant became shining,
exceeding white as snow, as no fuller on earth could white them.
And there appeared unto them Elias and Moses, and they were
talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to
Jesus, Master, is it good for us to be here? And let us make
three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for
Elijah. for he was not what to say, for
they were sore afraid. He was very frightened, very
frightened. And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them and the voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my
beloved son, hear him, hear him. And suddenly when they had looked
around about, they saw no man anymore save Jesus only with
themselves. And as they came down from the
mountain, he charged them that they should tell no men what
things they had seen till the son of men were risen from the
dead. And they kept that saying with
themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from
the dead should mean. Now turn, if you would, to Luke
chapter nine. Luke chapter nine, same narrative here. Luke chapter nine. verses 27
to 36. But I tell you of a truth, there
shall be some standing here which shall not taste of death till
they see the kingdom of God. And it came to pass, about in
eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James
and went up to the mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion
of his countenance was altered, and his remnant was white and
glistening. And behold, there talked with
him two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory."
And what did they speak of? What did they speak of, beloved?
It tells us right here. And they speak of his decrease.
They speak of his death. What he should do on Calvary's
cross. That's what decrease there means. It's his death, which
he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter, And they that were
with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were awake, they
saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came
to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master,
is it good for us to be here? Let us make three tabernacles,
one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Elijah, not
knowing what he said. Well, he had thus spake, there
came a cloud and overshadowed them. And they feared as they
entered into the cloud. And there came a voice of the
cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. And when the voice
was passed, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close and told
no man in those days of the things which they had seen. Now when
we who are born again, again of the Holy Spirit of God, when
we read the Bible, we often see ourselves or see our tendencies
in some of the Bible characters. And we see how they struggled
with things. We see how different situations came up and how they
reacted. How trials came their way and
how they reacted. And we often see ourselves. Because
it's comforting to know, isn't it? It's comforting to know that
these men and women in scripture struggled with the same things
we do. Even our beloved brother Paul.
And we'll look at that later. Struggled with the same things
that we do. The history of Peter and God's
word will leave the believer with mixed reaction. Peter was
one of the apostles. And sometimes we laugh or chuckle,
sometimes it's foolishness. Because we read things and go,
my goodness, he said that? In his brashness? But the reason
we chuckle sometimes over those things is because we know we're
the same way. We're the same way. Peter's actions and words sometimes
reflect our own. Sometimes reflect our own. We
as believers are often plagued with fear. We're often plagued with unbelief. And it's all mixed in with our
faith, isn't it? Oh my. But there will be a day. There
will be a day when that will no longer be. But while we're
here on this earth, we struggle with these things, don't we?
And we're honest about it. We're honest about it. We struggle.
But there will come a time when we will no longer struggle with
sin. When we will be in the very presence of our Redeemer. when
we will behold him face to face who shed his blood to redeem
us from our sins. Now on this earth, we sometimes
have sadness mixed with gladness, don't we? We do. We go through
hills and valleys often. We're sad over our sin. We mourn
as believers over our own sin, don't we? I mourn over mine all
the time. Oh, Lord, help me. Give me strength.
Give me strength. But we're thankful, aren't we?
And we're glad that God receives sinners. I'm so glad God receives
sinners because I'm one of them. I'm so thankful that he receives
sinners. Is it so with you? Aren't you
thankful that God receives sinners? Oh my. God receives sinners only
through the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only acceptance that
we have with God. It encourages the believer to
read how Peter talked and his actions and his reactions and
to know that God received him. To know that God received him
and that God blessed him the way he was. the way he was. He was born again, yet he had
all these struggles. Is it so with you? It's so with
me. And it was so with Peter. And it was so with Paul. And this gives the believer hope.
Christ receives us the way we are, sinners, saved by the grace
of God in Christ, in Him alone. Peter did, as one grace preacher
once said, some dumb and arrogant and ignorant things. And I know
I've done the same. I've done the same. And it's better for us to be
like Peter than to be like Judas. It's true, eh? And there's not a soul here that
can't find a little of ourselves in Peter. Sometimes he seemed like such
a contradiction, but beloved, he was one of God's sheep from
eternity, from eternity. He was chosen in Christ from
eternity, just as we who believe are. And so what can we draw? We can draw great comfort, can't
we? We can draw great comfort and strength. as we look at the
scriptures today and keep that in mind. Now let us remember
that we who are redeemed are in this body of sin, aren't we?
We're in this body of sin until the Lord glorifies us, until
He takes us home to be with Him, we will have a civil war within
us. The spirit wars against the flesh. We're new creatures in
Christ after we're born again, after conversion, but the old
man is still with us. And think, of Peter as he's with
the Lord. He walked with him. He talked
with him. But he was still Peter. He was
still Peter. Going through the same struggle
as a believer. Turn, if you would, over to Romans
7. Romans 7. And this discomforts my heart,
and I hope it does yours too as a believer. Because the same
things that we struggled with is the same things that the apostles
struggled with. This is why we so desperately
need a Savior, beloved. Because we're sinners. And after
the Lord saves us, we're saved sinners. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. Look at this. Paul the Apostle. Paul the Apostle
writing this. Now, I think it was Brother Donny
Bell said, this is the one time him and I were talking, he says,
this is the autobiography of a believer. Romans 7. It's the
autobiography of the believer. We're going to start in verse
15 now. Look at this. For that which I do not do, I
allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. We know Paul hated his sin. We
know, just like we hate our sin. My, if then I do that which I
would not, I can send the law that it is good. Now then, it
is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For
I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present with
me, but to perform that which I find good, I find not." Now
again, this is the Apostle Paul writing this. He's penning this
by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. For the good that I do
not, but the evil which I would not, that do I. Sounds like he's
struggling with sin. He struggles just like us. Now
if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but
sin that dwelleth in me. I find then the law that when
I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the
law of God after the inward man. He's born again of the Holy Spirit
of God. He delights in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law on my members,
and here's the civil war, beloved, and the believer. Another law
on my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members,
his flesh. His flesh. It's like Spurgeon
said, our own worst enemy is ourselves. It's true. Oh, wretched man that I am. Here,
don't we cry that out? Oh, wretched man, who can deliver
me from the body of this death? And look at verse 25. I thank
God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then with the mind,
I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of
sin. Let us never forget that we who are redeemed are new creatures
in Christ. We have a new nature. We have
a new nature. But we're still just men and
women, sinners saved by the grace of God in Christ, aren't we?
We are. And just like Paul here struggles
with sin, let us do what Paul says in verse 25. He looks right
to Christ. He looks right to Christ. I thank
God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I
myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of
sin. It's wonderful. And that's why you hear us grace
preachers say, just look to Christ, keep looking to Him. We look
to ourselves, we're in a heap of trouble, aren't we? Oh my. Oh my. And we who are redeemed do not
see ourselves as better than anyone else. We don't look down
at our unsafe family members or our unsafe friends. No, we
see our unsafe family members and our unsafe friends. And this
is what happened to me this week when I went back to Canada and
saw people that I had grown up with and saw them still doing
the same thing that I used to do. I thought, there go I, but
for the grace of God. That's the only one who made
me to dare for is God. There's nothing in me. And for you who
are redeemed, there's nothing in us, is it? It's all by the
grace of God. That's why we give Him all the
glory and honor and praise. That's why we don't look down
at people, because we know the pit that God pulled us out of,
don't we? Oh, what mercy we've obtained,
we who are redeemed. What grace God has bestowed upon
us. It's wonderful. And we say, praise
God, He's pleased to save me. And praise God, He didn't leave
me where I was. where I was. Our hearts have been changed.
We who are redeemed, our hearts have been changed by grace. Yet
we're still sinners. But praise God, we're safe sinners.
We're safe sinners purchased by the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ and safe in him. Safe in him. Born again
by the Holy Spirit and redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
Look at Mark chapter nine again. Peter was proud and impulsive
sometimes, and sometimes presumptuous. Note in our text in verse five
of Mark chapter nine, we see his impulsiveness here. Look
at this, and Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, is it
good for us to be here? Let us make three tabernacles,
one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And then
look what verse six said, for he wished not what to say, for
they were so afraid. I'm going to read again Luke
chapter nine, verse 33, and it says this, and it came to pass
as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, is it
good for us to be here? Let us make three tabernacles,
one for thee, one for Moses, one for Elijah. And then it says
in Luke chapter nine, 33, not knowing what he said. He didn't
know what he said. Now, Peter proclaims here, let
us make three tabernacles. One for you, Lord, and one for
Moses, and one for Elijah. He doesn't know what he's saying.
He doesn't know what he's saying. He wanted to worship Moses, who
represented the law, and he wanted to represent erect
a tabernacle for Elijah, who represents the prophets. You
know what he's done? He's made him equal with Christ. He's made him equal with Christ
by saying that. So in his impulsiveness, he doesn't
know what he's saying. He doesn't know what he's saying.
Let us remember this, that the law, which Moses represents,
and the prophets which Eliza represents, find their fulfillment,
as Brother Tim brought out today, in Christ, in Christ alone. Nowhere
else. They're all fulfilled in Christ. The scriptures declare this,
to Him being Christ give all the prophets witness that through
His name, the Lord Jesus Christ, whosoever believeth in Him shall
receive remission of sins. And then it says this, for had
ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of
me. And then Matthew 5, 17 says this, think not that I am come
to destroy the law of the prophets. I am come not to destroy, but
to fulfill. Peter didn't know what he was
saying when he said, let us erect three tabernacles. Oh my. Paul warned about vaulting
men. Turn, if you would, to 1 Corinthians
1. Paul warned about vaulting men
to the same level as Christ and bringing Christ down to other
means. Over in 1 Corinthians, there was some preacher worship
going on. Some had brought Christ down to be the same as Paul,
and some had brought Christ down to be the same as not only Paul,
but of Pauls and Cephas. See, God's preachers were just
servants of the Lord. We're just proclaiming a report,
right? That's why we say don't look
to us, look to Christ. Look to Him, look to the one
who we're proclaiming. But unfortunately, there'd been
some preacher worship going on. Look at this in 1 Corinthians
1, verses 11 to 13. for it hath been declared unto
me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe,
that there are contentions among you." There had grown contentions
because one was saying, well, I'm of this one and I'm of that
one. Oh my, look at this in verse 12, Now I say that every one
of you saith, I am of Paul, and I am of Paul's, and I am of Cephas's.
And then look at this, they brought Christ down to the same level
as His servants. And I'm of Christ. And then Paul
says, is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Paul's
a sinner saved by grace, just like you and I. He's saying,
don't do this. Don't do this. Look to Christ
and Christ alone. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified
for you? Or were you baptized in the name
of Paul? And then, let's go back now to
Mark chapter 9, and keep in light what we just read there, and
keep in light what Peter was bringing forth about the three
tabernacles, and how he was basically bringing Moses and Elijah to
the same point as Christ, and look at the response in Mark
chapter 9, verse 7. Let's see what the Scripture
declares, what God proclaims here in Scripture. when Peter was trying to make
Moses and Elijah equal to Christ. Look at Mark chapter 9 verse
7. Look at this. And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is my
beloved son. Hear him. Moses and Elijah spoke
of him. This is the only one. The Lord
Jesus Christ. God incarnate in the flesh. in
whom we have acceptance with God through. Only through Him,
beloved. That's why this is said. This
is my beloved Son. Hear Him. Hear Him. Because we know that the Law
and the Prophets testify of Him. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
chapter 14 and let us take note of how Peter in this passage
has great faith And then in verse 28, when he looks to the wind,
he begins to fear and begins to sink. And I can see myself
here, beloved, in this portion of the scripture. And let us
take note as we look at these various scriptures, how the Lord
even responded to him. It's wonderful. It's a real blessing.
It's incredible. Matthew chapter 14. Verses 25
to 33. Now, when a trial may come and
tribulation, let us note that just like Peter, we may start
out with great faith sometimes. We do. Sometimes we do. And we
begin to sink as we look to the situation that's swirling about
around us. And let us take great comfort
that just as the Lord did for Peter here, He will stretch forth
His hand and catch us and carry us through whatever comes our
way, beloved. And here carry us, we know, all
the way home. All the way home. Look at this,
Matthew 14, verses 25 to 33. And in the fourth watch of the
night, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. And when the disciples
saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is
the Spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus
spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid. And Peter answered and said,
Lord, If it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. Here's
Peter again. He's just, let me come. And he said, come. The Lord said,
come. And when Peter was come down
out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But
when, now think of this. He takes his eyes off Christ. Look at this in this text. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he got his eyes off the master,
beloved. He was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried, Lord, save
me. Is that not? I've done that. I can see myself
right there. Oh my, and immediately, look
at this, and immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and
caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore
dost thou doubt? There's not this huge rebuke,
is there? Oh, you of little faith. Oh,
what a compassionate, wondrous Savior we have in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Wherefore didst thou doubt? And
when they were coming to the ship, the wind ceased. The one
who rules the wind and the waves It all ceased. And then they
that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying of a truth,
Thou art the Son of God. Oh, they've been taught who he
is, haven't they? They've been taught who he is. And Peter,
at another time in his impulsiveness, rebuked the master. Look, a couple
chapters over, Matthew 16. He rebuked the master when he
spoke of his death to the apostles. Matthew chapter 16. Verses 21
to 23. From that time forth began Jesus
to show his disciples how that he must go into Jerusalem and
suffer many things of the elders and the chief priests and the
scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. Now look how he must go. The Lord Jesus Christ is in a
mission. He's on a mission to redeem his people from their
sins. He must go to the cross. That's the only way we're saved,
is by what He did upon the cross for us. He must go. So He's telling them about His
death. Then Peter took Him and began
to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord, this shall
not be unto Thee. This is the whole reason He came. And Peter's, Oh Lord, this is not
so. If he only knew what He said.
Oh my. But let us remember, This is
one of the Lord's sheep from eternity. He loves Peter. He loves Peter. Oh my. But he turned and said unto Peter,
Get thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offense unto me, for thou
savest not the things that be of God, but those that be of
men. So we see here the pride and
presumption of Peter. And let us look to Peter and
see See him bowing before his Savior
and proclaiming the sinfulness. Turn, if you would, to Luke chapter
5. Look at this. He bows before. So we see times
with Peter of great faith. And then we see times where he
says stuff that he shouldn't say. And we see him struggling. Oh,
we see ourselves in him. Look at Luke chapter 5. Verses
1-8, And it came to pass, that is, the people pressed upon him
to hear the word of God. He stood by the lake of Geneseth,
and saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were
gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into
one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would
thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught
the people out of the ship. Now this is when the Lord is
going to call them. Now when he had left speaking, he said
unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets
for a drought. And Simon answering, said unto
him, Master, again he's questioning the master, Master, we have toiled
all the night, and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy
word, I'll let down the net. And when they had done this,
they enclosed a great multitude of fish in their net break. They had so many fish that their
net break. And they beckoned unto their
partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and
help them. And they came and fell both the ships, so that
they began to sink. There were so many fish that
they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, look
at this, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me,
for I am a sinful man. Oh Lord. Peter's head revealed to him
what he is, in the presence of our great Redeemer. Now turn,
if you would, over to John chapter 13. And we see Peter refuse the
Master. Again, he always seems to have
something to say. And in this text, in verses 5
to 9, we see Peter thinking that he was being humble, but yet
he's full of self-righteousness. He thinks he's being humble,
but he's full of self-righteousness. And again, all the struggle between
the spirit and the flesh. The struggle between the spirit
and the flesh. Look at John chapter 13, verses five to nine. After that, he poureth water
into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe
them with a towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to
Simon Peter, and Peter said unto him, Lord, doest thou wash my
feet? So he's being real humble here.
He's trying to be humble, but he's full of self-righteousness
right now. Jesus answered and said unto them, what I do thou
knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto
them, thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I wash
not thee, thou hast no part with me. Oh, the believer. We are washed
in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and He's the
head and we are the body. Oh my. Simon Peter saith unto
him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
Oh my. Wash me, Lord, and I shall be
clean. I'll be whiter than snow. So
let us learn from Peter before our master. And notice the compassion
the Lord has with Peter. Notice the compassion he has
with him. And Peter is constantly being
bought to the feet of our master. Just like we are. Just like we
are all the time when we go through things. What happens? We constantly
are being bought to the feet of the master. Constantly. The various situations of our
lives. And do we not see some of ourselves
in these various portions of scripture that we've looked at?
And I cry, Lord, give us, give me strength. Give me strength
to look to you all time. All times, all circumstances
give me strength to look away from myself. I was talking with
Brother Tim yesterday, and we were talking about how when times
are good, we have a tendency, we have a tendency to lean upon
our own strength. And then when times are rough,
oh, we just run to Christ. Let us run to Him all the time.
whether it's times of ease or times of struggle. Let us just
keep looking to Him, looking to Him. Let us never forget the
grace and the mercy which we have through Him. Turn, if you
would, again to Mark chapter 14 this time, and we'll see here
Peter's impulsiveness again. Self-deceit and self-righteousness. Look at this. And this time it's not just Peter,
but all the disciples say this, this time. Mark 14, verse 26 to 31. And when they had sung a hymn,
they went out into the Mount of Olives, and Jesus saith unto
them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night, for
it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall
be scattered. So he's speaking of when all
his disciples are going to abandon him. But after that I am risen,
I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto them, although
all should be offended, I won't. He's saying, well they all might
take off on you, but I surely won't. Oh, the flesh, the flesh, the
flesh, beloved. Yet will not I, and Jesus saith
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night,
before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. Now he's
speaking to him of a future event. Peter's saying, no, I'll never
do that, Lord. They might, but surely I won't. And our God, our great Redeemer,
who knows all things and knows the intent and thoughts of man,
says, no, Peter, you're going to deny me three times. But look what Peter says, but
he spake the more vehemently. If I should die with thee, I
will not deny thee in any wise. And then look at this, likewise
also said they all. They probably heard Peter say,
well, you're all going to abandon them. And now they're all saying,
no, we're not, Lord. Now remember this, O Beloved.
Here we see the compassion and the love that our Savior has
for His people. He knows they're going to do
this. He knows they're going to do this. and he go unto the
cross to redeem his people from their sins. This is his mission.
In Luke chapter 22, 61, when Peter denies the Lord, I want
to read you a verse. We're not going to read the whole
portion where Peter denies the Lord three times, because we've
read that many times. But I want to read you in Luke
22, verse 61. The verse is this and the Lord
turned after Peter had denied him three times, the scripture
says, and the Lord turned right. And looked upon Peter. And beloved, that was not a look
of of of anger. Right, we know our Lord never
sinned. That was a look of love. That was a look of love. And
the Lord turned and looked upon Peter and Peter remembered the
word of the Lord, how he had said unto him before the cock
crow, Thou shalt deny me thrice. The look of love. Look of mercy. And then look, let's go back
to Mark, Chapter 14, and we're looking a little bit more at
the portion of chapter we see Peter, James and John all fall
asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane with the Lord. Look at this,
Mark chapter 14, verses 32 to 42. And they came to a place
which was named Gethsemane, and he saith to his disciples, Sit
ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter,
and James, and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be
very heavy. And saith unto them, My soul is exceedingly sore for
unto death. Tear ye here, and watch. And
he went forward a little and fell on the ground and prayed
that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And
he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee. Take
away this cut from me. Nevertheless, not what I will,
but what thou will. And he cometh and findeth them
sleeping and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldest
thou not watch one hour? Watch he and pray lest he enter
into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but
the flesh is weak. And again he went away and prayed
and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found
them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. Neither was
they what to answer him. And he come at the third time
and saith unto them, sleep on now, sleep on now and take your
rest. It is enough. The hour has come.
Behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise
up. Let us go. He that betrayeth
me is at hand. And we know that Peter goes on
to cut off a man's ear who came to arrest the Lord. He denied
the Lord three times. And then what's he do? He goes
back fishing. He goes back to what he knows.
He goes back fishing. And in him denying the Lord three
times, he showed that he was afraid of man. And he denied
the Lord. And so we've seen Peter sometimes
in scriptures, we see Peter has times of great faith and in times
of unbelief. In times of fear, can we not
see ourselves in Peter? Can we not see ourselves in him?
And we've seen today in the scriptures again that Peter had faith mixed
with unbelief. He had times of gratitude mixed
with times of doubt. Humility mixed with times of
self-righteousness. Let us always remember that we
carry this body of sin with us. We're new creatures in Christ,
yet we struggle with sin all the time. Again, the spirit wars
with the flesh, and it will until the Lord takes us home. Turn,
if you would, to John chapter 6. This very Peter is the one
who proclaimed these wondrous words in John chapter 6. Peter,
who denied the Lord three times, When Christ asked his disciples
if they would leave after the multitude left, look at this
in John chapter six, verses 67 to 69. And is this not what we
say, beloved? Is this not our cry as believers?
Then said Jesus unto the 12, well, will ye also go away? Verse 67, then look at verse
68. Then Simon Peter answered, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal
life. And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. What a statement.
What a statement. And this is before he denies
the Lord three times. Now, some some would say, surely,
surely Peter can't be saved. Religion, they. Someone like
this, they just chew up. Surely, surely, surely he's not
one of the Lords. But let us observe the boundless,
matchless, debtless grace of God in Christ towards his people. Peter was one who was blessed
of God. Peter was one who was chosen
in eternity in Christ. And Peter is the one who said,
Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Peter was
blessed of God and blessed by God from before the foundation
of the earth when he was chosen in Christ. And it's so with all
of God's people. It's so with all of God's people.
Peter has been blessed by God to know who Christ is, to have
had Christ revealed to him, to be born again of the Holy Spirit
of God. And he's been blessed by God to know himself. Remember earlier he said, I'm
a sinful man. I'm a sinful man. Only God can
teach us that. Only God can teach us that. And
then he was blessed by God to preach the unsearchable riches
of Christ. To proclaim the wondrous gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The death, burial, and resurrection
of Christ. The wonderful news. The good
news for sinners. The question is, are you a sinner?
Has God shown you you're a sinner? I'm a safe sinner. Praise be
to God. He's revealed to me what I am.
Is it so with you? If it's not, I pray He will.
I pray He'll reveal to you who you are. Turn, if you would,
to 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter. Peter was also blessed
to have a forgiven heart, beloved. Remember, Paul had rebuked Peter
in his error. And Paul was the younger, rebuking
the elder. But take note of how much Peter
has a forgiving heart, and what he says of Paul, who rebuked
him in his error. In 2 Peter 3, verses 15 to 18. He is a forgiven heart, beloved.
In account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even
as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom
given unto him, hath written unto you. As also in his epistles,
speaking in them of things in which are some things hard to
be understood, or which they that are learned and unstable
Rest, as they do also the Scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye,
therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware,
lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked,
fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory
both now and forever. Amen. But look what he calls
him in verse 15. Our beloved brother Paul. This
is the same Paul who rebuked him. Our beloved brother Paul,
he had a forgiven heart. And it's true that we who have
been forgiven, it's not hard for us to forgive, is it? It's
not. And if you're having a hard time
forgiving someone, just remember how much God forgave you. And if you're having a hard time
forgiving someone, pray for them. Brother Henry Mahan said you
can't be mad at someone if you're praying for them. It's wonderful. It's so true. It's so true, beloved. Oh my. Over an axe, Peter proclaims
in humility that salvation is in and through Christ and Christ
alone when speaking of the Gentiles. which had been borne again by
the preaching of the gospel by Paul and by Barnabas in Acts
15, verse 11. And this was the same gospel
which Peter and the other disciples proclaimed. And again, let us
remember that this is the same Peter that we've seen today,
who struggled with pride and self-righteousness and arrogance
and impulsiveness, and who denied the Lord three times. And look
what he says in Acts 15, verse 11. It says this, But we believe
that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be
saved even as they..." He had tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Oh my! He denied the Lord three times,
and yet he tasted that the Lord was gracious. Turn if you would
to John, we're closed with this text here in John chapter 21. And let us note this, beloved.
In religion, Men would say, how can this man be saved? How can
Peter be saved when he's done all these things? When he's like
this? When he denied the Lord three
times? Well, because it's all by the grace of God and Christ
that he's saved. Nowhere else. And through no
one else. It's all by God's grace in Christ
alone. And it's the same for us. It's the same for us. So here
we're gonna see the Lord talking to Peter after Peter had denied
him three times and we will see the boundless matchless grace
of God in Christ on full display right here before us towards
one of his people, towards one of his sheep that were given
to him in eternity, towards one of his sheep whom he purchased
with his own precious blood on Calvary's cross. And this is
one of my, I just love this portion of scripture because We know
how much we sin. And yet look at this boundless
mercy, boundless mercy. And we see ourselves here. And
let us take note here that the Lord doesn't berate Peter. He
doesn't tell him, look what you've done. He didn't do that. He didn't
do that. He doesn't bring up what he's
done. And we see the kindness and the compassion and the grace
which flows from our wonderful, merciful Savior. Look at John
21. John 21, 15 to 19. So when they had dined, Jesus
said to him, Simon Peter, son of Jonas, now remember, he denied
the Lord three times, right? Three times. And take note again,
the Lord doesn't bring up what he's done. But he asked them
three questions, right? So when they had dined, Jesus
said to him, Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me
more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. Now he denied the Lord three
times, and he's gone back fishing, beloved. Right? But this is one
of the Lord's sheep. This is one of the ones he redeemed
by his precious blood. Yea, Lord, thou knowest that
I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lamb. He saith unto him again the second
time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea,
Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed
my sheep. He saith unto him the third time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because
he had said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he
saith unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that
I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my
sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither
thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch
forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee,
whither thou wouldest not. This he spake. This spake he,
signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had
spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me." Isn't that wonderful? Oh, the grace of God in Christ.
Peter's sins were forgiven at Calvary's cross. The Lord didn't even bring it
up, did he? Now, I'll tell you what, in religion, they bring
stuff up all the time. Grace, grace, wondrous grace. Marvel at the grace of God in
this portion of scripture, right before us on full display. The Lord has loved Peter with
an everlasting love. He is one of his sheep. And let
us look to our Savior. Let us look to Christ, just as
Peter has done. And let us keep looking to Him,
no matter what the situation is, no matter what the trial
is. And let us know that just like Peter, when we're sinking,
as His sheep, when we're sinking, He's there stretching forth His
hand, and He carries us. What a wondrous Savior. Praise
His mighty name. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee
We thank Thee for the scriptures which we looked up today, and
we see ourselves in Peter, in portions of what he's done. Oh,
I see myself there, Lord. And I thank Thee, and I know
that Your sheep here who You've redeemed by Your precious blood,
we thank Thee for Your wondrous grace. We thank Thee that our
sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west, and that
You remember them no more, O Lord. And we see the matchless, debtless
grace on full display when you asked Peter those questions and
you didn't rebuke him for what he did. But all the mercy and
compassion and love that you have for your people was on full
display. Oh, Lord, may you use this message
for your glory and honor and praise. And we love you only
because you first loved us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.