Okay, today now, we're going to look at Luke 22. You turn there to Luke 22, and
let's read these two verses, verse 31 and verse 32. And the Lord said, and the Lord
said, would you listen while the Lord speaks? I've never learned
anything by talking about you." The Lord said, I want to be swift
to hear and slow to speak. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon. The Lord called his name intimately,
double E to get his attention. Behold, he said, Satan hath desired
to have you. have you that he may sift you
like wheat." Some of you old mothers know something about
the wheat sifter. I don't think they do that anymore,
do they, with the flour? Do you do that anymore with the
flour you buy? You still do that? OK. My dad
used to have an old sifter, and he used to love to bake, and
he'd put that flour in there, and he'd sift that, and it would
come through the bottom a little more refined. And that's what
he's talking about here, that he may just put you in that grinder
and sift you up a while. Shake you up a while. Like wheat. But, he said, the Lord said, I pray for you. Now, the Lord
doesn't say here, you're not going to be sifted. The Lord
didn't say here, you're not going to be sifted. He said, I'm going
to pray for you. I'm going to pray for you. That's
your faith doesn't fail. Oh, you're going to be sifted.
You're going to be tried. And when, not if, when you're
converted, that is when you are turned. Now the Lord is not saying
here that Simon Peter was not a saved and justified man. But he's saying when you are
converted and when you're turned from this experience of being
sifted, You strengthen the brethren.
I'm going to turn you, the Lord said. And when I turn you, you're
going to be a rock to the brethren. And this is kind of unusual. And Peter said to him, Lord,
you don't need to pray for me. I'm ready to go. I'm going to
go with you to prison. I'm going to go with you to death.
You know, this sifting stuff, I can handle Satan. I don't even
need to pray for me. I'm ready to go. I'm going to
fight with you. I'm going to go. And the Lord said to him, well,
Peter, let me tell you something. I've got some reality for you. Before the rooster crows in the
morning, you're going to deny that you even know me, and you're
going to be ashamed to confess that you even know me. And when
they press you on it, you're going to curse like a sailor
up and down to convince them that I don't know this man of
Galilee. You're going to deny me three
times, Peter. What do you think Peter thought
in his mind when the Lord told him that? I can just imagine,
can't you? Peter's thinking again in his
mind, not me, no, John. Yeah, John, he's kind of weak. Andrew, James. Not me. Can't you just imagine that going
through his mind? I'm strong. The title of the message is,
Thank God I Prayed for Thee. Thank God I Prayed for Thee.
That's your faith does not fail. Now the Lord Jesus Christ declares
unto us that He prays for us. That is his church, his sheep.
He laid down his life for the sheep. He saved his people from
their sin. But what a great comfort this
should bring to our heart, our weary and sinful heart, to know
right now, and this has been true from eternity, the Lord
has always prayed for us. Before we knew Him, He knew us. Before we loved Him, He loved
us. In that eternal covenant, He
stood as a surety of that covenant, the Savior of the covenant, and
He prayed for His people then, now, And forever. Doesn't that comfort you? The
Lord Jesus Christ prays for us this very moment, as He's seated
in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, and we are seated in Him. The
Lord prays for us this very moment, and we have with the Father an
Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous. You
remember? 1 John chapter 1. John writes
to those little children and he says this, he says, my little
children, these things I write unto you that you sin not. Do not sin. Refrain from sinning. But when you do, We have an Advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Now aren't you
glad we have an Advocate in the Lord Jesus Christ? Now here in
Luke 22, verse 31 and 32, is the only gospel record we have
of this conversation between Peter and the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, I mean by that, it's
not recorded in Matthew, Mark, or John, only right here. All
four gospel records tell us about Peter's actual denial, but only
here is this very intimate conversation between Peter and the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now what can we learn from this?
What can we take away from this? I want us to be instructed. What can we take away from this? What can you take home this morning
from this that is said right here? What can you walk out the
door with and in your heart from this message? Well, three or
four things. The first thing is this. Simon,
Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you. The first thing
I would have us know There is no enemy so dangerous, so deadly,
so vicious, so experienced to deceive us as the devil. Satan himself. He is a real person. Don't go seeking him. But he is a real, fallen, created
angel. Satan is the one who brought
sin into the world at the beginning by tempting our mother Eve. You remember he said, in the
day that you eat, you'll be like God. You shall not surely die,
you'll be like God. And she was deceived. He was
deceived. And she gave out of her deceived
heart unto Adam, and he did partake of that tree as well. Adam was
not deceived, but he did so partaking of that out of love to his wife
to protect her. This is he that Satan is described
in the book of Job as he who goes to and fro in the earth,
walking up and down in the earth, seeking whom he may devour. This is he of whom the Lord calls
the prince of the power of this world. This is he whom the Lord
calls a murderer from the beginning. This is he, the Lord said, who
is a father of lies. This is he whom Peter compares
to a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. This is he, that
is Satan the devil, who John speaks about and calls him the
accuser of the brethren. Paul called the devil, small
g, the god of this world. Satan not only desired to have
Peter under his control, but also all the apostles. That word, you, can be rendered
in the plural. Satan had desired to have you
all, to sift all the apostles, to sift them as wheat. John Gill
said, to make them look like nothing but chaff. Peter looked
like chaff that day when he denied the Lord, did he not? Tears among
wheat. And Satan desires not only Peter
and the apostles, but he also desires to have us. That he may
sift us like wheat. Now he had already had his way
with Judas, remember? In Luke chapter 22, Luke verse
3. Then entered Satan into Judas. Surnamed Iscariot, being one
of the twelve, and he went his way, came in with the chief priest
and captain, how he might betray the Lord. Judas was sifted and
was consumed by the devil. Now Satan is seeking permission
from the Lord of glory to have his way with James and John and
the others. Remember this about the devil
and Satan, he is a created angel, a created angel that fell from
his prior estate, reserved in chains of darkness until that
day of judgment. He is no rogue, independent agent. He is not a rival to God. He's
not in competition with God as to who controls the universe. A lot of people think the hurricanes
and the earthquakes and those things are caused by Satan, those
bad things, and then the good things are of the Lord. But, you know, even
in the insurance industry, when they see these calamities and
acts of what they call hurricane or whatever. You know what they
call them? Acts of God. I don't say these are acts of
the devil. These are acts of God. At least they have some sense,
don't they? But remember this. He's not in competition with
God. He does not control the universe. He is defeated foe.
He's under the complete control of our blessed God and Savior,
the Almighty Lord Jesus Christ. The devil is God's devil. Now what do you mean by that
preacher? I mean the devil, Satan himself, is under the absolute
dominion of God. He does not do anything, go anywhere
without the express permission and will of God. I tell you and
give you a good example that in the book of Job, Satan could
not touch Job without the Lord's permission. In Job chapter 1
and Job chapter 2, the Lord said, Behold, all he has is in your
hand, only put not forth your hand to touch him. All he has
is in your hand, but don't you touch him. And then later, the
Lord said, Go ahead and touch him. but spare his life. But he couldn't do anything,
Job, without God's permission. And that's true for us today.
Therefore, let us not be ignorant of the devil's devices. Paul
writes this, lest Satan should take an advantage of us, for
we are not ignorant of his devices. Satan even parades around, as
it says in 2 Corinthians 11, he parades around as an angel
of light. Preaching not wickedness, but
preaching righteousness. That is, sinners seeking salvation
by their morality. That's the message of Satan.
Beware of these things. Now, what are we to do? What
are we to do? Well, we know the Lord prays
for us. And here's what He gives us to do. Find Ephesians chapter
6. Ephesians 6 verse 10. Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able
to stand against the wiles, the trickery of the devil. For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness and high pleasures. Wherefore, take unto you the
whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand, to withstand
in the evil day, having done all to stand. Then therefore
having your loins girded about with truth, having on the breastplate
of righteousness, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel
of peace, above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye
shall be able to quench all the fiery dart of the wicked. Take
the helmet of salvation, the sword of spirit, which is the
word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication and
spirit, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints." Sounds to me like we're in a battle. Put on
the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the day. So, that's lesson number one. Lesson number two. Let us learn
from this experience of Peter the failure of our flesh. You know, man has
failed under every dispensation. In the garden, what happened?
Adam sinned against God. When God gave the law, what did
man do? He broke it. When the Lord Jesus
Christ came, God manifested in the flesh, they said, away with
him. Crucify him. We have no king
but Caesar. Man has failed under every dispensation,
creation, law, and under the gospel. Failures. Failures. Now, what is the lesson for us
here? You are a failure. I am too. How frail, weak, and
sinful is our own wicked flesh. How totally depraved we are in
thought, deed, word, and motive. Born in sin, shapen in iniquity,
there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understands,
there is none that seek after God, there is none righteous,
no, not one. That means you. That means me. How frail, weak,
sinful, guilty is our flesh. Psalm 39, man at his best state, vanity. Isaiah and Peter both have this
statement, all flesh is grass. You see, the best of men are
only men at best, sinful, frail, and wicked. Now, get a hold of
this. I've said this over the years,
and I'm learning that this is so. There is no sin that believers
are not capable of committing, participating in, taking part
of, apart from the Lord's restraining grace. You say, well, I'd never
do that. Peter said he'd never forsake
the Lord, too. And he did the very thing he
said he would not do. We know what happened to Peter.
The very thing that he said he would not do that very night,
That's exactly what happened. Look on in this chapter, Luke
22, verse 54, Then they took him, and led him, and brought
him to the high priest's house. This is after the Lord was arrested.
And Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire
in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter
sat down among them, having following afar off. But a certain maid
beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him,
and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying,
Woman, I know him not. And after a little while another
saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man,
I'm not. Peter, what are you doing? About
the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed saying of
a truth, this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, man, I know not
what thou sayest. And immediately while he spake,
cock-a-doodle-doo, the rooster crowed, and the Lord
turned and looked upon Peter. Wow. That must have been like
sticking a sword in Peter's heart, don't you think? And Peter remembered
the word of the Lord, how he said unto him before the cock
crow, Thou shalt deny me thrife. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. You remember what Judas did? Judas went out and hanged himself.
Peter went out with a broken heart of repentance. You know
why? Because his faith did not fail. Preacher, are you sure about
that? Yep, I'm sure about that. "...let us always seek His mercy
at the throne of grace, and constantly ask the Lord to watch over our
will, our affections, our thoughts, and restrain this rotten flesh."
Do you remember the way the Lord taught us to pray? Find back
in Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11. Do you remember
this? So the Lord taught us to pray
this way. Now, Luke 11 verse 1, it came to pass that as he
was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of the disciples
said to him, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his
disciples. And he said to them, when you
pray, say, our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us day by day our daily
bread. Forgive our sins, for we also
forgive everyone that's indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. Deliver us from evil. Now, the Lord taught us to pray
that way. Why? Because we have that evil,
rotten nature within us. Lord, deliver me from myself. Deliver me from my wicked self.
I do not trust myself one bit. This flesh is liable to do anything
at any time. I don't trust myself for anything. I trust Christ for all of my
salvation. We have no confidence in the
flesh. Lesson number three. Yes, we do have a terrible adversary,
the devil. But thanks unto the Lord, We
have a terrible adversary, but we also have a tremendous, a
tremendous an advocate in the Lord Jesus Christ. A tremendous
mediator. One who ever lived to intercede
for us, He's able to save them to the uttermost that come to
God by Him, seeing He ever lived to make intercession for them.
The Lord says here to Peter, But I prayed for thee that your
faith does not fail. We have a mediator. Now here's
what made the difference between Judas and Peter. Judas had no
Savior, no Redeemer to pray and intercede for him. The difference
was not in them. Both were sinners. Both sinned
against the Lord. Both deserved eternal condemnation. But Peter had a Mediator. One
God, one Mediator between God and men. The God-Man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Peter had an intercessor. Peter
had a surety of the covenant. Peter had a Savior who put away
his sin. Judas did not. The Lord prayed
for Peter and not for Judas, as we read in John 17. I pray
for them that you've given me, I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. The Lord prayed for Peter as
He does for us, and He prayed for two things. Number one, He
prayed that, you see it? that thy faith fail not." Now,
Peter, alien of himself, He was a failure before he went there
and denied the Lord. And he just proved that his flesh
was a failure by doing what he did. He was already born in sin. He lived a life of sin. He was
a failure from the beginning. And when he denied the Lord,
he just demonstrated the fact, yeah, I'm a failure. Did he not? But, faith being the perfect
gift of God, faith did not fail. Never did. Peter never stopped
believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the only Savior
of sinners. His faith did not fail, even
though his flesh said, I don't know the man. You remember he confessed in
Matthew 16, when the Lord said, Peter, whom do you say I am?
He said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of God. And in John 6,
69, when all those other 5,000 people walked away from the Lord,
and the Lord said, Peter, will you go away too? And Peter said,
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We believe and we're sure. Thou art that Christ. Peter never
stopped believing. that he was the Son of God. Yes,
he did deny in the flesh that he knew this man from Nazareth,
but he never denied, or they never did ask him, do you deny
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Now, he couldn't deny
that, because his faith failed not, because the Lord prayed
for him. The second thing the Lord says,
when, and not a matter of if, you see verse 32? It's not a
matter of if you're converted. When I turn you from this and
strengthen you, you're going to be a help to everyone else
around you. When you are converted, when
you are turned from your failure, from your denial by the power
of God, when you are turned, Jeremiah prayed, Turn thou me,
and I shall be turned, for thou art my God. David prayed, Turn
us, O God, and cause thy face to shine upon us, and we shall
be saved. When you are converted, strengthen
the brethren. Now, a lot of people have said
at this time that Peter wasn't a justified sinner. Because the
Lord said, when you're converted, you strengthen your brethren.
Now, Peter was I converted as far as a sanctified, justified
sinner in the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter was saved in Christ. He
made a confession on many occasions that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God, and that's what true faith believes. Peter at this
time was a sinner justified freely by his grace in the Lord Jesus
Christ. But what the Lord is teaching
here, when you are recovered from this terrible failure of
denying that you know the one from Nazareth, the Lord of glory,
You be that rock of confidence to those around you." Now, we
can see what the Lord prayed for actually became a reality. When you're converted, when you're
turned from this error, from this failure, you be a strength
to your brethren. Peter was a strength to the church,
was he not? as he preached that message there
on Pentecost, and the Lord used that preaching of that message
to convert 3,000 sinners. Look at the rest of Peter's life.
He was a tremendous blessing to the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ in his first epistle and his second epistle. You see,
Peter did fail that day, right? Only God can bring good out of
evil. What Peter did was wrong. What
Peter did was sinful. But out of that sinful evil,
only God can bring good. It reminded me of another story
found in Genesis chapter 50. Do you remember the story about
Joseph who had those brethren who sold him into slavery? And when finally the brethren
came to him, When Joseph was on the throne in Egypt, God raised
him up. You remember what Joseph said
to those brethren? As for you, you thought evil
against me. But God meant it for good. Only God can bring good out of
evil. That's the majesty of our great
God that we serve. Peter, when you're brought through
this trial, you'd be a help to those going through this trial.
None can so sympathize with those in trial like those who have
been through a similar experience and found that the Lord's Word
is true, where He says, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake
you. He has said so that we may boldly
say. And then, turn and read this
with me, found over here in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. This will be a blessing
to you if you look at this verse and consider what we've been
talking about this morning. 2 Corinthians 12 verse 7, "...lest
I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations,
there was given to me a thorn in the flesh." The messenger of Satan to buffet
me. The messenger of Satan to sift
me. Now, lest I should be exalted
above measure, for this thing I besought the Lord three times,
that this messenger of Satan would quit sifting me. Just leave
me alone. And the Lord said to him, my
grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in
infirmity, in reproaches, in necessity, in persecution, in
distresses. For Christ's sake, for when I'm
weak, That's when I'm strong. When I know I'm a complete abject
failure. And that's when I'm strong, looking
to Christ for all things in our salvation. Now, when Peter writes
in his epistle, Peter having been through being sifted, he
knew what it was to be sifted, did he not? And he writes in
his epistle in 1 Peter 1, if you want to turn there with me,
you can. 1 Peter 1. Verse 6, Wherein ye greatly rejoice,
though now for a season, if need be, if need be, you are in heaviness
through manifold temptation, that the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though
it might be found tried with fire, might be found unto praise
and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having
not seen ye loved, and whom though now ye see him not, yet believing,
ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, full of glory, receiving the
end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul." If need be, the
trial of your faith is precious. It takes away all the dross. and refines faith. Trials do
not produce faith, trials reveal faith. You see, when we most
need Him, and when He strips us down and shows us we are nothing,
the believer in his heart, because his faith fails not, what does
he do? Turn to the Lord and cry for
mercy. The Lord said, I will not cast
you out. I will not cast you away. Nothing
can separate us from the love of God, which is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now listen to me. I'm not taking
this too far. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, not even our own unfaithfulness. Now, I'm not promoting unfaithfulness. But who among us has absolute,
sincere, complete faithfulness? We fail every day along the way. Our hope and our encouragement
is He does not fail. Now our Lord says two things
to help us here. He said, let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace that you may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in our time of need. Obtain mercy. Come boldly. How do we come boldly
unto the throne of grace? That word boldly means with liberty.
How do we come? How do we come to the Lord Jesus
Christ? Come to him and don't move a
muscle. We see we come to Him by faith.
We come to Him by faith. Now don't turn, let me just read
this to you. I've been thinking about this the last few days.
In Matthew 11, verse 28, the Lord said, Come unto Me, come
unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I will give
you rest. How do we come to Him? By faith,
by faith. looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Take my yoke upon you, learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find
rest for your soul, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
The Lord said, come to me, come to me, come to me. One other
verse, and I'll send you home with this. The Lord said, I am the bread
of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger. He that believeth
on me shall never thirst. That tells us that coming to
Him and believing on Him is the same thing. And that's how we
come. Oh, everyone that is thirsty,
the Lord said, come. Come, come to Him. Come to Him
by faith. And that's what God-given faith
does. It comes to Christ.