Fail your way to Victory

Introduction

Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost

Acts 2:22-24 “22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”

Acts 2:32-33 “32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”

Acts 2:36 “36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Peter was very bold, and very unapologetic on the day of Pentecost letting everyone know who Jesus was, and what they did to Him

But, Peter didn’t start out this way

Body

Abraham Lincoln’s resume for the presidency

Lost his job in 1832

Defeated for state legislature in 1832

Failed in business in 1833

Elected to state legislature in 1834

Sweetheart died in 1835

Had nervous breakdown in 1836

Defeated for Speaker in 1838

Defeated for nomination for Congress in 1843

Elected to Congress in 1846

Lost renomination in 1848

Rejected for land officer in 1849

Defeated for U.S. Senate in 1854

Defeated for nomination for Vice President in 1856

Again defeated for U.S. Senate in 1858

Elected President in 1860

The Good

When Jesus called Simon Peter to follow Him, he left his nets and began to follow Jesus

Simon Peter is the only disciple that got out of the boat and walked on the water to get to Jesus

Simon Peter confirms that he will continue to follow Jesus after many others walked away from Him and would no longer follow Him

Simon Peter is the one who declares that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God, and gets his name changed to the rock

Peter declares his allegiance to Jesus at the Passover

Peter got to the empty tomb second, after John, but Peter is the one that went in

The Bad

Peter becomes afraid of the storm on the water and takes his eyes off of Jesus

This is a recurring theme in Peter’s life

Allowing the circumstances Peter found himself in to supersede his faith in Christ

In this case, the storm had more power to sink him than Jesus did to keep him afloat

Jesus rebukes Peter right after Peter declares He is the Messiah because he doesn’t want Jesus to go to the cross

Only a couple of verses after Peter gets the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, he goes and does this!

We don’t know what Peter’s motivations were here, but here’s a couple of possibilities

Peter was concerned for his Friend

Peter was, however, entirely ignorant of the plan and purpose of God, well-intentioned as he may have been

Family and friends who don’t live for God will often play this role in our lives

Peter was concerned for himself

Jesus was becoming very popular, and being one of His disciples carried some prestige. If public opinion were to turn against him...

He left everything to follow Jesus, what happens if He dies?

Peter falls asleep in the garden of Gethsemane

Either Peter was completely ignorant of Christ’s struggles here, or...

Peter ultimately didn’t care enough to stay awake

Peter attacks the servant of the high priest when Jesus is arrested

Again, Peter seems to be completely oblivious of the plan of God here

Peter responds with a very misplaced zeal and uses physical violence to try and stop them from taking Jesus

Peter denies Jesus three times

John 18:12-18 “12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, 13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. 14 Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. 15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. 16 But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. 17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not. 18 And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.”

Peter initially ran away, along with the other disciples, but later returns and follows Jesus afar off

Initially Peter was not able to enter into the palace of the high priest, but “that other disciple” gained him entry.

He could have followed Jesus at this point all the way in, but we find Peter hesitating to continue on

A maid challenged him

Peter ends up standing with those that captured Jesus and warming himself with them

Peter’s choice to remain with the enemies of Christ rather than follow Jesus into His trial led Peter to deny his Messiah

Who you choose to stand with will determine who you become. Make that choice wisely

The group will influence you, not the other way around

Peter’s fear of persecution, fear of public opinion turned against him, fear of being thrown into prison, fear of losing everything he had gained by following Jesus caused him to turn away.

Peter was more concerned with his physical discomfort (he needed to warm himself) than he was with the plight of Jesus

John 18:25-27 “25 And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. 26 One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? 27 Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.”

The story picks back up with Peter warming himself with those who captured Jesus

He continues to deny that he was with Jesus

He does this because of who he decided to stand with

Once you lie, it requires more lies to conceal the fact that you lied

Once you sin, it requires more sins to cover the first sins up

Peter was very happy and content to serve Jesus when He was popular

Everyone from all over Israel had heard of Jesus

Jesus was celebrated as a great prophet and rabbi

He was worshipped during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem

Now that Jesus was being accused of crimes, Peter’s zeal was quickly cooling off

We cannot be content to serve Jesus only as long as it benefits us. We must serve Him during times of blessing as well as during times of persecution

We must make decision that will position us to be strong when the day of persecution comes

Who we decide to stand with

Who, or what, we decide to trust

How we decide to respond to blessing. To persecution.

Peter leads the other disciples back to their old lives after the death and burial of Jesus

The pattern of the backslider is to go back to what you were doing before Jesus

The Example of Jesus

Jesus rebukes Peter right after Peter’s declaration of Jesus as the Christ

Jesus understood the plan of God and had the will to follow that all the way through

Peter, through ignorance, or worse, selfishness, sought to disrupt the will of God

Jesus in the garden

He prayed great drops of blood, such was His fervor and His earnestness in prayer

Peter fell asleep

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak

Don’t ever allow your flesh to dictate to you what you will and will not do for God

Again, it seems like he was ignorant of what was really going on here

Jesus at trial

He defended Himself brilliantly, knowing it would be ultimately futile

He was not afraid, but was determined to see the will of God completed

Conclusion

What can we learn from Peter’s life?

We cannot be ignorant of the will of God; in our lives or in the lives of those close to us

We cannot be ruled by fear and circumstances, but by faith in God and in His Word

We must pick our friends and those we associate with very carefully, understanding that they are who we will ultimately become

We must purpose in our hearts to serve the Lord Jesus no matter the circumstance, whether in blessing or in persecution

We must learn to put the will of God first and foremost in our lives, even at the expense of our wants or even needs

What can we learn from the life of Jesus?

Jesus understood the will of God and would let nothing deter Him from accomplishing it

Jesus gave God’s will the preeminence in His life. Even over His own will

Jesus was resolute and composed when facing death by crucifixion because He understood He was there by God’s design

Despite all of Peter’s shortcomings, he was restored by Jesus and became the leader of the church

God used him to open up this New Covenant to the Jews, the Samaritans, and to the Gentiles

Despite all of our shortcomings and even failings, no matter who we are and where we’re starting from, Jesus can and will work through you mightily if you’ll apply these lessons from the Apostle Peter