Thank you, Brother. What a blessing
it's been for me to be here with you and fellowship with you and
with your pastor and Mary. It's been a real joy. And I failed
to mention Friday and Saturday night that several of our folks
in Orlando asked me to express to you their love and their regards
when I got here. I'm happy to do that. You have
brethren that you haven't met that live in Central Florida
that love you and that are praying for this meeting. We were talking about our family
situations yesterday, I guess it was, with Donnie and Mary,
and I was telling them that my father was born in 1927, and
when he was two years old, his father died. And he was the youngest
of 12 children. And during the Depression, his
mother ended up having to give away all of her children and
kept my father the youngest one. And so my father grew up not
knowing his brothers and sisters. And I remember when I was in
the ninth grade, we moved to California, and my father met
one of his brothers that he had never met before. And I remember
when they met and how they embraced. how they love each other instantly,
became best friends, and remain that way until they die. That's
just an illustration, I think, of the way it is for us. We have
brethren that we've not met, but we're birthed into the family
of God through the same womb. That's what brethren means. The
word brethren in the Scripture means of the same womb. And we love each other, even
though we haven't met. One day we will embrace, and
we'll be able to rejoice together. So know that you have family
in Orlando, and they'll pray for you, and we covet your prayers
for us. I want to introduce this message
this morning by asking you a question. A question that I already know
the answer to, because I know what the answer is for myself. The question is, have you ever
denied Christ? Have you ever denied Christ?
Have you had an opportunity to speak, and you knew what to say? And yet, out of fear of man,
you kept your mouth shut. And in doing so, you really gave
approval. to what was being done and what
was being said. I know you have. I've done it
more times than I like to remember. Have you ever been convicted
by your conscience and by the Holy Spirit not to do something? And with eyes wide open, walked
into the den of disobedience, denying Christ and his authority
in your life. I know you have. We've all done
it more times than we want to think about. The night before
the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, two of his disciples denied him. Two of them. They committed a
horrible sin The Scripture tells us about one of the disciples
by the name of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ
for thirty pieces of silver. The Lord said of Judas, it would
have been better had he never been born. Now that statement
can be made of every person who leaves this world without the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to think about
that. That's an awesome statement. That's a fearful statement, but
it came from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. It would have
been better had he never been born. Judas, in worldly sorrow,
hanged himself. and will spend all of eternity
in a devil's hell without any hope of redemption. Peter, to protect himself and to avoid
the reproach and humiliation of a crowd that he did not even
know. denied the Lord Jesus Christ
three times with cursings. I do not know the man, he said. Yet later, unlike Judas, Peter
was restored. Peter was forgiven. Peter was
used of God to preach the first gospel message on the day of
Pentecost. And Peter, for the next 35 years, led the church
in the preaching of the gospel from Jerusalem. Peter, unlike
Judas, has gloried in the presence of the Lord ever since and will
forevermore. Two men. Two men did exactly
the same thing. Here's my question. What made
the difference? What made the difference between
Judas Iscariot and Peter? There was no difference in their
sin, and yet there was a tremendous difference in their outcome. 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Will you
open your Bibles with me to that passage, please? 1 Corinthians
chapter 4. At verse 7. Here's the question for this
message. Who maketh thee to differ from another. And what hast thou that thou
hast not received?" It's a rhetorical question, isn't
it? We know the answer to it. The
difference between Judas and Peter was not found in the character
of the man. They were both sinners, both
capable of heinous sin, of out-and-out denial of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who made the difference? Why is it that one was saved
and the other was lost? Why is it that one was, as the
scripture says, a vessel fitted for destruction and the other
an object of God's grace chosen in Christ Jesus before the world
began? Who made that difference? Who
made that difference? We see the difference all throughout
scripture, don't we? Beginning with Cain and Abel.
Who made the difference? Who made the difference between
those two men? Who made the difference between Jacob and Esau? Both brothers, both capable of
horrible sin, and yet one was redeemed and the other was lost. Who made the difference between
the thief that hung on the cross to our Lord's right from the
one who hung on the cross to his left. Who maketh thee to
differ? And here's the points to my message. One was chosen. The other was
not. One was loved. The other was
not. One was prayed for, the other
was not. One had the Holy Spirit, the
other did not. One was restrained in his sin,
the other was not. One was brought to repentance,
and the other was not. These are the works of grace
that God is pleased to do in the lives of His people. And
if He did not do it, if He did not do it, we would be just like
them. There would be no difference.
And our end would be the same. Peter was chosen of God. Judas was not. Let me show you
that in the Scriptures. Open your Bibles with me to John
chapter 13. Verse 18. Lord Jesus is speaking to His
disciples and He says, I speak not of you all. I know whom I have chosen, but
that the Scriptures may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me
hath lifted up his heel against me. Now turn with me to John
chapter 6. And look at verse 70. And Jesus
answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve? But one of you is
a devil. He spoke of Judas Iscariot, son
of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being one
of the twelve. If God did not sovereignly choose
in the covenant of grace before the world began, a people, a
particular people, no one would be saved. No one would be saved. When did he make this choice?
Well, the scripture is very clear on that. It says, before the
world began. Before the boys had done any
good or any evil that the purpose of God in election might stand, God was pleased to choose one
and not the other. The Scripture tells us why the
Lord did this. Why did He choose some and not
others? The answer to that question is not found in the virtue or
the quality of those for whom he chose, but simply in the will
and purpose of God. He chose us according to his
good purpose and will. Whatever he chooses is right. He's the potter. We're the clay. And he has the right to make
from the same lump of clay some vessels of honor and some of
it dishonor according to his own pleasure. He's God. What made the difference between
Judas and Peter? God chose Judas. He didn't choose
Peter. Who does he choose? He chooses those whom he foreknew.
For whom God foreknew, them He did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of His Son. And them that He did predestinate,
He called. And them that He called, He justified.
And them that He justified, He glorified. And He did it all
according to His good purpose and will. And some people will
hear this and they'll say, That's not my God. And I don't doubt
that it isn't. For the God of man is a God that's
fashioned after the likeness of man. The scripture said, you
thought that I was altogether as yourself. And men in their
pride think that, well, if I was God, I wouldn't be that way. Well, our God is that way. And we'll bow in submission to
that, or we'll die under the judgment of that truth. Some get angry when they hear
about the electing grace of God. Others respond in apathy. Others might say, well, if it's
up to God to choose me, then there's nothing I can do. I might
as well just wait on the Lord to do something for me. And then those whom God has chosen
will respond like this. They'll say, O Lord, have mercy
upon me. Lord, choose me. Lord, don't pass me by. You see,
this truth of electing grace is designed in order to make
out of us mercy beggars. It's purposed in order to show
us that we are dependent upon the Lord in our salvation from
beginning to end. Jonah said it like this in the
belly of the fish. He said, salvation is of the
Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. You see, once man denies electing
grace of God and salvation, then he makes a work out of coming
to Christ. He makes a work out of coming
to Christ. God's done all he can do. Now
it's up to you. No, it's not. No, it's not. That's not our God and it's not
our gospel. What made the difference between Judas Iscariot and Peter? Why was one redeemed and the
other lost? The answer is very simple. God
chose Peter. He didn't choose Judas. The second
thing that made the difference between Judas and Peter is that
the Lord had prayed for Peter. He didn't pray for Judas. The
Lord said to Peter, He said, Peter, Peter said, Lord, they
may deny you, but not me. The Lord warned the disciples.
He said, I'm going to be I'm going to go to the cross and
you're all going to be scattered. And Peter said in his pride,
he said, Oh, no, Lord, not me. And the Lord looked at Peter
and he said, Peter, before this night's over, before the talk
grows in the morning, you're going to deny me flat out three
times. But be of good cheer, Peter,
for I prayed for you. That's what made the difference.
That's what made the difference. Who maketh he to differ? What
do you have that you've not received? He makes us to differ. And if
he doesn't pray for us, he's the righteous man whose faithful
prayers are effectual always. He's the high priest who ever
liveth to make intercession for us. He's the one who said in
John chapter 17, Father, I pray not for the world. I don't pray
for the Jews. Father, I pray for them which
thou hast given me out of the world, for thine they were, thou
hast given them to me. Lord, I pray not for these only,
but I also pray for those that will believe on me through their
word." Oh, we're so... God's people do pray. We ought
to pray more. We ought to pray fervently. We
ought to pray expectantly. We ought to pray in faith. You
know, our prayers are so weak, aren't they? And we oftentimes
pray for things that the Lord doesn't give us. We pray amiss,
don't we? And oftentimes the Lord has to
say, oh no, that's not in my will for you. But you know, that's
never been the case with the Lord Jesus Christ. Never. Every prayer he's ever prayed
was a perfect prayer. And every prayer he's ever prayed
was answered by the Father. When the Lord Jesus Christ hung
on Calvary's cross and he prayed to the Father from the cross
and he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they
do. Who was the Lord Jesus Christ
praying for? Was He praying for everyone that was gathered there
around? Everyone that was wagging their head? Everyone that was
saying, He saved others, now let Him save Himself? Let's wait
and see. Is that who the Lord was praying
for? Was that a general prayer for
all men? If it was, they would have all been saved. I can show
you from the Scriptures at least one person the Lord Jesus meant
that prayer for. Turn with me to Luke chapter
23. Look at verse 34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do, and they parted his
garments and cast lots. Now look just across the page
at verse 47. Verse 46 says, Father, into thy
hands I commend my spirit. And said thus, he gave up the
ghost. And now, when the centurion saw
what was done, he glorified God, saying, certainly this was a
righteous man. There were a lot around the cross
that were casting insults at the Lord Jesus Christ But when
the Lord prayed for the Father to forgive them, this centurion
was one that he was praying for. And the Father heard that prayer,
touched the heart of that man, caused him to worship God and
to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the righteous man. You see, that's the hope that
we have. The hope that we have is that
we have an intercessor. We have one who offers up our
prayers to the Father. You know, a young child can go
out in the yard and pick flowers for its mother, and in doing
so, gather up all sorts of grass and weeds and mix them in with
those flowers. But when that child gives those flowers to
the mother, you know what she does? She separates the weeds
and the grass and she arranges the flowers and puts them in
a vase and sets them on the thing and enjoys them, doesn't she? That's the way we are. Our prayers
are so mixed with weeds and stuff that don't belong. The Lord Jesus
Christ takes our prayers and He arranges them. He arranges
them and presents them to the Father. And the Father hears them because
of the advocacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. What made Peter to differ from
Judas? Peter was chosen. Judas wasn't.
Peter was prayed for. Judas wasn't. Peter had the Holy
Spirit. Judas did not. The Lord Jesus
said, if you have not the Spirit of God, you're none of His. He
gave the Spirit of God to Peter, but not to Judas. How do we know Peter had the
Spirit of God? Well, because he was brought to repentance
in the end. But when the Lord asked the disciples, whom do
men say that I am, you remember? And the disciples said, well,
some men say that you're Elijah or some Jeremiah or one of the
prophets. And the Lord said to the disciples,
in whom do you say that I am? Peter had a lot of times when
he wished he could have taken his words back, but not this
time. Not this time. He said, O Lord, thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And what did the Lord Jesus
Christ say to Peter? Peter, you've been blessed of
the Father. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah,
flesh and blood's not revealed this unto you, but my Father
which is in heaven and upon this rock, this declaration of faith
that you've just made, empowered by the Spirit of God put into
your heart, I'm going to build my church and the gates of hell
will not prevail against it." Peter had the Spirit of God,
not so with Judas. How do we get the Spirit of God?
Well, we're brought by that same Spirit to ask for Him. Two times the Lord said, if you
being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts unto them
that ask Him? He said that once. And another
time, in another place, He said, if you being evil know how to
give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your Heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them who ask Him? Who ask Him. Oh, Lord, we need your Spirit.
Lord, apart from your Spirit, I'll not be able to believe.
It is the Spirit of God that regenerates. It's the Spirit
of God that gives faith. It's the Spirit of God that opens
our ears and enables us to hear the voice of God. It's the Spirit
of God that gives sight to our blind eyes. Without the Spirit
of God, we're none of His. We have no hope. Whom maketh
He to differ? The Lord is pleased to give his
Spirit to some. Others, he leaves them to himself. The Lord told the disciples,
he said, you go back to Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit will come
upon you. And you'll be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in Samaria. And in Judea and Samaria and
the outermost parts of the world, you'll be my disciples. Now,
some come and they give a profession of faith, but they fall away.
Why? Why? Well, John tells us the answer
to that. He said, some have departed. They've left. Let me show you
that term. Let me go to 1 John chapter 2. Look at verse 19. 1 John 2, verse 19. There are many curiosity seekers
who show an outward interest in the gospel. And they come
and they may outwardly appear to be believers. But in time,
in time, they fall away. As you've heard your pastor say,
and as I said the other night, if you can leave, you will leave.
And the only thing that keeps us remaining is the irresistible
grace that the Spirit of God puts into the hearts of His children.
Look what He says in verse 19. They went out from us, but they
were never of us. They were not of us. For if they
had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us.
But they went out that they may manifest that they were not All of us. Now look at the next
verse. But you have an unction from
the Holy One. Now when man says but, it's always
a but of denial. But when God says but, that's
a good thing. It's a good thing. Oh, but God
who is rich in mercy towards them whom He loves. Or with His
great love. When He says, but, you would
have gone with them, in other words. You would have left too. But who made you to differ? You've
been given an auction by the Holy One. You have the Spirit
of God and He won't let you leave. If you could leave, you would,
but you can't. You don't really want to. Why? Because the Spirit of God works
irresistibly in our hearts, causing us to seek after him. We can't
leave. Can't leave. The Lord said to
the disciples, will you leave me also? You remember after he
fed the 5,000, the whole crowd was following after Christ. Oh, what a movement. Everybody
jumped on the bandwagon. The Lord looked at that crowd
and He said, you follow me only because you want your bellies
full. A lot of people jump on the bandwagon for something they
can get from God. They want some temporal issue
in their life solved, or they want some problem fixed, or they
want some benefit that they can get. And that's what religion
is all about. It doesn't deal with the real problem. It doesn't
deal with the issue of sin. It doesn't deal with eternal
life. The Lord said, you follow me
so that you can have your bellies full. And he said, if you really
want to be my disciples, you've got to deny yourself, take up
your cross and follow after me. Well, they couldn't do that.
They couldn't do that. Why? Because they didn't have
the Spirit of God. So they all left. And don't you know the
disciples were thinking, now Lord, You just chased off a good
church. Couldn't you have figured out
another way to be a little easier on these folks? I mean, we'll
bring them along gradually. No, instead the Lord looked to
the twelve and He said, aren't you going to go with them? Will you lead me also? And again, Peter said, Lord,
where are we going to go? Where are we going to go? Lord,
you alone have the words of eternal life. We're not here by choice.
Coming to Christ is never a choice. Never a choice. If you have a
choice between coming to Christ or doing something else, you
will always, always do something else. We come to Christ only because
we're made to come to Christ. We've got no place else to go.
We say, like Peter, Lord, where are we going to go? Or do you
alone have the words of eternal life? And we're convinced, we
believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. Lord, we've got no other place to go. You're here
because God's taken away all your choices. He's taken away
all your options. He's shut you up to Christ. That's
the only reason we'll be here. And he does that in the power
of the Spirit of God. What made the difference between
Peter and Judas? Who maketh thee to differ? Peter was chosen. Judas wasn't. Peter had the Holy Spirit. Judas
didn't. Peter was loved. Judas wasn't. That's right. Jacob, I have loved. Esau, I have hated. God doesn't love everybody. He
doesn't. You know that. I'm not telling
you anything your pastor hasn't told you a hundred times or more.
But we're telling you what God says. You know, this matter of
universal love is just not true. It's not even true with us, is
it? Love in order to be love has
to be particular. It has to be focused on an individual.
Men, try going home today and tell your wives, honey, I love
you just like I love every other woman in the church, every other
woman in the world. I love you the same way. See
how that works out for you. You see, love, in order to have
any meaning at all, has to be particular. It has to be focused,
especially with God's love. If God loves those who leave
this world like Judas and end up in a devil's hell, then let
me ask this question. What does the love of God have
to do with anyone's salvation? What does the love of God have
to do with anyone's salvation if God loves those who are lost
just like He loves those who are saved? And you have to conclude,
the love of God doesn't make any difference. Who maketh He
to differ? Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that He loved us and gave His Son as a propitiation
for our sins. That word propitiation just means
that God was satisfied in what the Lord Jesus Christ did in
receiving the full fury of God's wrath so that now the Father
is appeased. The Father is propitious towards
us. because of the sacrifice of Christ
for us. God can't love us outside of
Christ. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, yes, which is in Christ Jesus. Oh, what manner of love the Father
has bestowed upon us of all people that God would love us and call
us to be the children of God. God's love is particular. The
Lord Jesus said in John chapter 13, Father, I've loved them to
the end. What keeps us? What causes us
to remain the love of God? What made the difference between
Gomer and all the other prostitutes of Hosea's day? And I love the picture of Gomer
going outside of her house after spending nights with her lovers
and finding gifts, finding gifts at the door, thinking that her
lovers had left them. And all along it was Hosea. It
was Hosea coming in the dark of night while she remained in
her sin and providing for her. And then redeeming her, purchasing
her off the slave block and bringing her back into his household,
loving her. That's what made the difference.
God had put in the heart of Hosea love for Gomer that he didn't
have for anyone else. Who maketh he to differ? What
do you have that you did not receive? The love of God. The love of
God. What made the difference between
Peter and Judas? Peter was restrained. in his
sin. Judas was not. The Lord left
Judas to himself and Judas out of guilt and agony and fear went
out and in worldly sorrow hanged himself and God didn't stop him.
But I want you to notice from the scriptures what the Lord
did for Peter. The Lord said, Peter, I prayed
for thee, but when thou art converted, in other words, when I've finished
my work of grace in your heart and brought you all the way around,
then you teach the brethren. And you read Peter's epistles,
and Peter's epistles are all about the Lord restraining him
and him warning the brethren. Look with me to Luke chapter
22. Luke 22. And Peter said, Man, I know not
what thou sayest. That was the third time that
he had denied Christ. And immediately, while he yet
spake, the cock crew, The Lord caused that rooster to crow at
that very moment in order to fulfill the prophecy that he
had made to Peter that very night. And then, look at this. If this
doesn't break your heart, what made the difference between Peter
and Judas? The Lord restrained Peter. How
did he restrain him? How did he restrain him? And the Lord turned and looked
upon Peter. The Lord had already been flogged
by the Roman soldiers. He was being moved from one place
to the other, from the high priest's house to the praetorium where
the Romans had abused him. And the Lord knew Peter was going
to be there. The Lord turned and looked upon
Peter, and Peter remembered the word that the Lord, how he had
said unto him before the cock grew, thou wilt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and unlike
Judas who hanged himself, he wept bitterly." What is it that
broke the heart of Peter? The look of the Lord Jesus Christ. The pity. as a father pityeth
his children, so the Lord pityeth them that fear Him." The Lord
pitied Peter in that look. The Lord looked at Peter with
a broken heart of love and grace and mercy, and Peter's heart
was broken. That's the only thing that keeps
us from becoming like Judas. That's the only thing that restrains
us. It's the fact that the Lord knows where we are at every moment
and in His time. In His time, He looks upon us
in grace and in mercy. And He speaks to our hearts.
And He breaks our hearts. And He brings us, not to worldly
sorrow which leads us to death, but godly sorrow which leads
us to repentance. He does it through the pitiful
look of grace. was brought to repentance. Remember Peter in agony, and
after this moment, after the Lord was crucified and buried,
Peter told the rest of the disciples, he said, I go fishing. He said,
God's done with me. There's no way I can be restored.
There's no way I can be redeemed. There's no way I can be used
of God. I'm just going to go back to
my profession of fishing. And he did. And when the Lord
rose from the grave and met Mary on that resurrection morning,
he told Mary, he said, go back and tell the disciples and Peter
that I've risen. And the Lord ordained a personal
meeting with Peter, didn't he? On the sea there while Peter
was out fishing. And the Lord appeared on the
seashore and Peter said, it's the Lord. And he jumped in the
water and swam to shore. Peter, the Lord said to Peter,
Peter, love us thou me three times. Oh, Lord, you know, I
love you or thou knows. Feed my sheep. What made the
difference between Peter and Judas? God brought Peter to repentance. God restrained him. God chose
Peter. The Lord prayed for Peter. The
Lord gave Peter the Holy Spirit. The Lord loved Peter. He didn't
do any of those things for Judas. Who maketh thee to differ? Who
maketh thee to differ? What do you have that you've
not received? Do you ever deny Christ? Do you see yourself, apart from
the grace of God, worthy of the same judgment that Judas got? Do you understand that, but for
the grace of God, there go I? Do you know that if the Lord
Jesus Christ had not redeemed you and prayed for you and loved
you and given you his Holy Spirit, That there's nothing that would
restrain you from becoming just like Judas or any other unbeliever? Who make it fit to differ? The
Lord. Because of that, He's the one
that gets all the glory, isn't He? Amen. you