41 Preaching/Teaching: Mark 14b-Peter

Landmines in our walk with Jesus

Walking with Jesus is hard!

Walking with Jesus for a lifetime can feel impossible!

I was a new believer and i was so easy to walk with Jesus, their was a fire, a newness a freshness, this could not be easier. As I reflect back on that 1998 day in September, I realize that that it is much harder than I could ever have imagined.

This was the very thing God created us for think about this for a second.

Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

No one starts a walk with the Lord and in the back of their mind is saying, I want to have a half hearted walk.

But this is hard for everyone.

A long time ago I went to a friends church and they had a big time speaker there, and I was skeptical. He delivered a great message, to the point where I was like that was awesome. It turns out a couple of weeks later that he was caught in all kinds of affairs and a drug scandal. How does that happen? It happens because along the ways he stepped on some landmines that kept him from his walk with God. When some huge scandal like this happens it is because along the way some landmines were stepped on and before you know it things have gotten out of control.

How is your walk with God right now?

Is it intimate?

Do you have one?

None of will have a perfect walk with the Lord, but I want everyone here to be able to walk with God for a life time and finish the course he has for us. I want at the end of our lives for us to be close to him.

If we are to do that we have to see that there are some landmines that can keep us from the walk that God desires that we have.

1. The first landmine Peter stepped on in his walk with Jesus:

Is placing confidence in himself (Mark 14:29).

Mark 14:29 (NASB95)

But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.”

Biblical Examples

Lexham Theological Wordbook Pride

Pride refers to an unwarranted attitude of confidence. While pride can have a positive connotation of self-worth or boasting, it is often used in Scripture to refer to an unhealthy elevated view of one’s self, abilities, or possessions.

Who are some characters in the Bible that come to mind when we think about pride:

Satan Fall- Ezek 28:14-15-Satan has the attitude of pride.

King Solomon constantly in the Proverbs talks about the dangers of pride.

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

a. We exhibit pride when we place our faith in ourselves.

Mark 14:27 “And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 14:29–31

14:29–31. As before (cf. 8:32) Peter focused on the first part of Jesus’ prediction (14:27), ignoring the second part (v. 28). He insisted that he was an exception—all the rest might fall away as Jesus predicted (v. 27) but he would not (lit., “but not I,” the word “I” is emphatic by position). Peter claimed greater allegiance to Jesus than all the others (cf. “more than these”; John 21:15).

Now we believe the word of God, and here the word says you are going to deny me. What are we to say to that? I am going to show you.

Notice Peter placed his faith in himself. If we start saying, “I will never deny Christ,” that is the first sign to show we are on our way or that we could fall into temptation due to pride or self-confidence. Peter’s reliance on himself was a sign of pride, and as we know, God sets Himself up against the proud. Notice he wrote a check he could not cash.

What could Peter have said: Jesus, help me so I don’f leave you.

Is your walk with God marked with pride?

Or is pride keeping you from a deep walk with Jesus?

How are you putting pride in yourself right now?

b. We exhibit pride when we elevate ourselves over others.

Peter also elevated himself above the other disciples. They may desert you, Jesus, but I never will. I am better than them. We don’t do this, right? Peter was elevating himself at the expense of others.

We would never tell a story about ourselves to make ourselves look good, and someone else look bad.

Ultimately, our goal is to boast and elevate our Lord and Savior.

Jeremiah 9:23–24 “Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”

Some would think it is terrible to boast, but it is not harmful. The question is boating about the wrong things.

Peter here is boasting about himself. The Bible tells us to brag about knowing God.

Sharing our faith with others does not become monotonous when we talk about this. It becomes grand!

God wants us to be confident in him not prideful in him.

Illustration of a guy who said, "Damn, I am good."

This speaker was stepping on the landmine of pride!

What areas of pride in your life do you need to deal with?

Are you stepping on the landmine of Pride!

2. The next landmine Peter stepped on in his walk with Jesus:

was separating himself and following him at a distance (Mark 14:54).

Mark 14:54 (NASB95)

Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire.

Explanation

Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible Exposition

26:58 All the disciples had initially run away and abandoned Jesus (v. 56; cf. Mark 14:54; Luke 22:54; John 18:15–18), but Peter followed Him at a safe distance, as Jesus’ guards led Him across the Kidron Valley, into Jerusalem, and into the high priest’s house. This house contained an open courtyard in the middle, which was typical of such buildings. Peter positioned himself inconspicuously, he thought, near a fire in the courtyard, in order to observe what would happen (cf. John 18:15–16). A church now stands over the traditional site on Mt. Zion: the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, translated, St. Peter at the Crowing of the Cock.

John tells us that without Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5). But don't we really think we can do it without Him. This is the USA where you are told you can do anything you put your mind to.

Now we won't say that but deep down we believe we have enough to be sufficient without him. We must first seek Him. We are all in danger of following Christ at a distance and not simply sitting at His feet. What I have seen is that we as believers are content with just going to Church once a week. God desires that we pursue him closely not at a distance. One of the reasons many Christians are not close to him is because they do not have a daily walk with him.

At this point all the disciples are deserting him, do you guys know who the one disciple was who was at Jesus crucifixion?

a. Pressure reveals how closely we are walking with God.

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker are you following Jesus this closely?

How closely are you following Jesus right now?

It was really happening Jesus was being tried, their was confusion and their lives were being torn upside down on what they believed and what they were going to do. And it was in this moment that a landmine went off. They had been close to Jesus, remember Peter had actually seen the Messiah transfigured, how do you get any closer than this. But in this moment that he was following him from a distance.

Have you ever thought about this. Most big sins don't just pop up. They happen because they start following at a distance. -How did he get there. He started following at a distance.

Many of the kids who grow up in church today are walking away from the faith when they leave high school The stats are staggering. We need to pray for our kids. Danni did some reading on it, and one of the things that she found is that the thing that separates kids from leaving the church or staying in the church is if they have a personal and regular time with God. This year Heather and I have been focusing on helping our kids have a quiet time on a regular basis, and it is one of my greatest joys to see my kids walking with the Lord. Aiden has been doing this for awhile, but I have loved that my other kids are doing it as well. Bella came up to me before spring break and said i have a 30 day streak. Why is this so important. Because if a kid follows Jesus at a distance they will simply stop following him. But if this is true for our kids how much more is it true for us?

Are you following at a distance?

There ares so many ways to have time with him. If you don’t have a time with him talk to someone at this church. Let me give one example-I met with Andy last Friday and we caught up and we talked about our time with God. Enrique reached out to Andy at one time and asked can you help me with my time with God?

The beautiful thing is that if you are a believer in Jesus you can not ultimately separate yourself from God. As Romans tells us nothing separates us from the love of God. Should that not be motivation to walk with him as closely with him forever.

Let’s walk closely with God!

3. The Last landmine Peter stepped on in his walk with Jesus:

he sat down in the company of Christ’s adversaries (Mark 14:54).

Mark 14:54 NASB95

Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire.

Setting:

This was what was going on, they were in the high courts, the important places. They were determining the fate of not just any man, a man like no other. The majority of the people there were wanting to see Jesus come to an end. And Peter is sitting by the very people who wanted Jesus dead warming his hands.

Exposition

The Gospel of Mark 1. Jesus Taken to the Sanhedrin (vv. 53, 54)

Simon Peter had not gone far (v. 54). There was something to his bravado after all, though not enough to risk his own arrest! Preparing us for Peter’s denial (vv. 66–72), Mark relates that Peter followed at a distance, wanting to see what would happen and perhaps half hoping that at some point Jesus would do something dramatic to deliver Himself. This led to two things. First, Peter followed as far as the courtyard of the high priest. “Palace” (Greek aule) can refer to the entire structure or to the courtyard surrounded by the edifice; given that Peter entered it, the latter is the meaning here. Second, he (literally) “was sitting together with the servants and warming himself at the fire,” able to view the proceedings in a room off the courtyard (v. 66). The “servants” (Greek huperete) would include various kinds of assistants or attendants, not menial servants. (John 18:16 tells how Peter gained admission.)

a. We need to stand for Jesus and not sit for him.

Interestingly, Peter's denial of Christ kept getting more imminent or to the point, even to the extent where he said, 'I don't know the man.' (A quick note: we must remember we are to be around the lost. For most Christians, the danger of being influenced by the lost is not an issue because we, quite frankly, don't hang out with them at all.) However, Peter was becoming tight with people who were not just Christ's followers, but they wanted him dead. His problem with being around these people is that he would not stand up for Jesus.

Are you standing up for Jesus?

As I say that let’s remember we don’t stand up for Jesus because he needs it we do it because we need it and that is what we are called to do!

When Paul was in prison for preaching the gospel, he said, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Are you standing up for Jesus?

What about in your home?

What about in your neighborhood?

What about your job?

God is calling us to be influencers for him, to be dangerous disciples!

I have seen people in this church stand for Jesus. When we sit for him we run the danger of stepping on a landmine.

Michael and I are really close friends, he was in between jobs. We were doing things for our fall fair at the time and while we were driving he had to take the call so I was basically listening in on his job interview. They asked him what are your priorities. He said without hesitation first I am a follower of Jesus CHrist. Now I am the pastor and I am like WOW, that was pretty radical. His walk with God in that moment was probably pretty tight I am guessing.

Are you sitting for Jesus or standing for him?

Christians are supposed to be known for their love for anyone they come into contact with.

Peter stepped on some landmines!

You and I are going to have to navigate through landmines just like Peter.

While he walked with Jesus, we saw that there were landmines all over that he stepped on.

I want you to picture yourself on a minefield with landmines everywhere. How are you doing? Are you stepping on landmines right now, are you about to step on one. Which land mine are you most worried about?

Pride

following Jesus at a distance

Sitting in the presence of Jesus adversaries.

What are some things that need to change in your life this week so you do not step on a landmine.

-Do you need to humble yourself this week, the Bible says humble yourself in due time so that he may lift you up.

1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,”

Is there something you need to confess and bring before someone else right now.

-Are you following God from a distance. You have a relationship with God ut it is not a deep and personal one right now. What if you committed to spending time with God daily. I met up for breakfast and he was sharing with me what he does for his devotional. Do you spent regular time with God. Because if you don’t you will be following him at a distance.

-Do you need to stop sitting and start standing up for the lord Jesus. Do you need to stop being influenced and begin being an influencer.

-Peter's messed up and was upset because he had hurt God

The Landmines Peter Stepped on put him in a place he never thought he could have gotten.

Mark 14:66–72 “As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch. The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.”

As we close up aren’t you glad Jesus willingly took the landmine for us. That he willingly went on the field and paid the ultimate price of death for you and I. GOSPEL

As believers in Jesus we are saved by the grace of God. But this same grace that saved us is the very same grace that we need to walk and live out the christian life regularly.

Do you think God was done with Peter? Here is how it ended for Peter.

Do you know how Peter died? He watched his wife crucified right before his eyes, saying remember the Lord, then when it was his turn, he said crucify me upside down because I am not worthy of my Lord."