“Peter: The Apostate Who God Used”

IT IS NOT TOO LATE: God Uses Broken People Sermon Series

Tithe and Offering

It is time for us to collect our tithe and offering. And remember, giving is a big part of our Sunday worship experience at our church. Your giving helps our church in many ways, such as doing ministry, paying our bills every month, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. This happens because of the dedication and generosity of your faithful giving. So, “thank you” for your faithfulness to God through your giving to the church. May God bless you. Please follow the instructions on the screen on how to give. Our ushers will pass the offering plates as we continue with worship.

Welcome

Please stand up, greet some folks around you, and welcome them to worship. We welcome you to our Sunday Worship Service. We also welcome all who join us online. Let's clap for our online viewers.

Announcement

Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. is our church’s weekly BIBLE STUDY. We are close to finishing the Book of Luke. So, please join us on Wednesday night to STUDY THE WORD OF GOD. Our weekly corporate prayer meeting at the church is on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. Our Men’s Breakfast was yesterday, and our next Men’s Breakfast is Saturday, July 27th, at 10:00 a.m. at the church. I want to encourage all the men to attend the Men’s Breakfast. This is a great place to fellowship and get to know other men in the church. To all our leaders, our church’s monthly leadership meeting is July 20th at 12:00 p.m. here at the church.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Father, as we bow our heads before You this morning, we glorify You and acknowledge Your presence. I pray that the Holy Spirit will help me preach Your Word. Sanctify this church with Your Word, for Your Word is truth. I pray that the tithes and offerings be used to advance Your work. We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Declaration of Faith in God

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

An implosion occurs when dynamite or an external pressure squeezes a building, subjecting it to extreme force from the outside. Although these buildings have been around for several years, a force can break, crumble, and destroy a building that took several years to build. We saw this happen during the September 11 (9/11) attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, one of the most deadly attacks in American history.

Many of us here today have been involved in or witnessed an implosion in the lives of people we know and love. Things looked good from the outside for an extended period until a massive collapse occurred. It is interesting that an implosion can take seconds while building a structure that can take [several] years to design, develop, and build. It looks like nothing was ever there when the building walls came tumbling (falling) down.

Such was the case in the life of one of the great persons of the New Testament Bible. His name is Peter. Jesus referred to him as “Simon Barjona” in Matthew chapter 16, verse 17. Our series is called “It Is Not Too Late: How God Restores Broken People.” I call Peter the rebel that God used. Turn your Bible to Saint John Chapter 21, and I want to talk to you about Peter today. Peter will be the focus of my sermon today.

Now, I call him the rebel because he committed what the Bible would classify as a grave sin: apostasy. Let me tell you the meaning of this word. Apostasy means to deny the Christian faith, which is the formal disaffiliation from or renunciation of Christian faith. The New Testament offers frequent warnings against the danger of apostasy and several references to the consequences of falling away from the Christian faith.

SERMON EXPOSITION

Jesus asked Peter a question in John chapter 21, John 21:15, “So when they had finished breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John do you love me more than these?” Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? The question is what prompted the question from Jesus. Why is Jesus asking Peter, do you love me more than these? Jesus Christ had been preparing His disciples for His death. He had been talking to them about the day coming up soon when He would no longer be with them, He would be killed, and things were going to be different.

Jesus said, “Now when I am gone (Peter), I want you to learn to love one another through serving one another. I want you to connect because I will be leaving you soon. Times are going to be tough—Times are going to be rough. You are going to need one another. Because the tendency, temptation, or difficulty will come in such force that you will want to bail out when the going gets tough.”

Peter raised his hand and said, “Excuse me, I don’t know what the other disciples will do, but you never have to worry about your main man. I am your main man, and you don’t have to worry about me because I will never deny or forsake you.” You can count on me, Jesus; I will always be there for you. These are Peter's words to Jesus. He is over confident and sure of himself.

Jesus said to Peter in Luke 22, “Satan has asked permission to sift you like wheat, but I am praying for you that your faith fails not.” And I am doing this, Mr. Peter, Mr. Big Stuff (Mr. Big Man); you will not deny me because you are better than the rest of the disciples. “Before tomorrow morning, you will have already denied me three times.”

And so, Peter expressed a superior commitment and love to God than the rest of the other disciples. Like most people today, Peter thinks more highly of himself. Jesus said to Peter, Satan has asked permission from God to jack you up. Sift you like wheat in verse 31 of Luke 22 means jack you up. It talks about removing the sleeve from the grain to separate the two. Jesus said to Peter, Satan has asked permission to ruin you. To ruin your spiritual life and to mess you up.

[Please notice] The you in verse 31 in Greek is plural, so Satan wanted to wreak havoc on all the disciples of Jesus Christ. But Jesus addressed Simon Peter, and He singled out Peter because he served as the group’s de facto leader of the group. Like what Satan does today to most Christians, he tried to derail Peter from the kingdom purpose God had ordained for him. Peter’s failure would be the worst and lead to the defeat and defection of the rest of the disciples. The good news is that Jesus intended to use Peter to restore the rest of the other disciples.

Watch this: Whenever you are right and Jesus is wrong, the devil is controlling you. Let me say that again. Whenever you think you are right, and Jesus is wrong about everything in your life, the devil is controlling you. Whenever God says one thing, and you say something else, the devil is controlling you. Satan has to have a basis for the request to sift you. Satan is coming after you because you have created a door of opportunity. You have done something that opens the door for Satan to come in. For example, our sin creates an open door for Satan to enter to do the shaking to rip us away from God's purpose, usefulness, and plan. What was the open door in Peter’s life? Let’s look at verse 33. "But he said to him, 'Lord, with you, I am ready to both go to prison and death." And the Lord said to him in verse 34, "Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me

So, if you are a child of God, Satan has no power over you unless God gives Satan permission. So, let's get something straight. The devil is not just the devil; he is God's devil. The devil operates under the sovereign hand of the Almighty God. Satan wants to harm and destroy all God’s people, but God uses Satan’s activity for His holy purposes.

Peter suffered from independence, self-confidence, and unbrokenness. Peter's problem was that he felt better than he was. So, Peter needs to be broken. To be broken means to be stripped of self-sufficiency; that is what brokenness means. It means to learn the lesson, "Without me, you can do nothing." It means to understand that He is God. And that as much as we are determined to be all that we think we can be under the right set of circumstances, if Satan can get you right at the right time, at the right place, in the right situation, he got you as long as you are self-sufficient, so you need to be broken. [Watch This] And God will allow the devil to ride you until he breaks you down.

Peter’s self-confident boasting [is a warning to us] that none of us knows our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it). And so, we can fail at the point of our greatest strength. We can fail at the point of our highest success and victory. Abraham’s greatest strength was his faith, but his faith failed him when he went down to Egypt and lied about Sarah not being his wife (according to Genesis 12:10 and 13:4). We talked about Moses in sermon series; his greatest strength was in his meekness (humility), according to Numbers 12:3, but Moses had a bad temper, and he spoke foolishly [rashly] with his lips. He was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Peter was [a brave man], Peter was an outspoken man but his courage and self-confidence failed him, and he denied Jesus three (3) times.

SERMON APPLICATION

So, why am I telling you all this? [Because] Far too many folks today have “Big Heads” (we are too overconfident about our ability and human wisdom). The Lord sometimes allows Satan to tempt us to draw out the evil that is in us—and this can be evil that we may not even be aware of. Let me connect you with some theology here. Satan asked permission from Jesus to jack Peter up because arrogance and pride had opened up the door for the request. In other words, God would allow the devil into our spheres [into our space] for one of two reasons.

To manifest a sin, we are unaware of or allow Satan to tempt us to draw out the evil that is in us. [Watch this, stay with me] God does this to precipitate a development that we need in our spiritual growth [And our spiritual lives]. God will allow the devil, with permission, to bring to light weaknesses, [our] failures, and [our] sins that we either don’t know are there or don’t know how bad and think [it is a minor thing or something small].

The Bible says Satan is the “…the accuser of our brothers and sisters…”according to Revelation 12 verse 10. Interpretation: Satan is regularly looking for chances (opportunities) to jack you up [and to jack me up]. This also brings up the theology of the intercession of Jesus Christ for you and me. Jesus said to Peter, “I am praying for you,” in verse 32. Jesus' prayer to God is not to take us out of the world but to keep us away from Satan, the evil one.

Jesus told Peter, I will not stop Satan from coming after you because you got to learn something. So I am going to let him mess with you. I am going to allow Satan to mess with your theology. The problem is that some people here today say, “I wish the devil would stop messing with me.” But the reality is Satan may be messing with you because God has okayed it. This means your wishing that he stops won’t make a difference. But there is good news, and Jesus said, “I am praying for you that your faith fail not” in verse 32.

SERMON EXPLANATION

I am praying that despite the devil's attempts to jack you up, you will not lose your faith in what you know to be true. I pray that your faith will hold even though your function won’t hold up—even though I just informed you. Peter said to Jesus, “That is not possible.” In verse 32, Jesus says, “When you are converted (turned back), strengthen your brothers …” When you get back right, help somebody else. So now that is the second prophecy Jesus gave to Peter. Prophecy number one says you are getting ready to mess up because Satan is going to jack you up. When you get back right again, I want you to help somebody else.

The word “converted” that Jesus uses here in verse 32 means “turned back.” Jesus is talking about a time when Peter will have a change of heart and mind, and his faith will be increased and strengthened.

You all know the story. When they came to get Jesus at night in the Garden of Gethsemane, they took Him away; all His disciples fled away, according to Mark 14:50. They said to Peter, “You were one of the disciples with Jesus.” Peter said, “No, I am not one of them.” It might look like me, but it wasn’t me—the second time. You were one of the ones with Jesus. I told you it wasn’t me—third time. You were one of the followers of Jesus. Peter said again, no, I am not a disciple of Jesus and the third time the Bible says he said it with cussing.

Jesus’ prophecy came true. Peter had denied something he thought he could never do. So, [Is there anyone here today who has done something you thought you would never do?] You thought this was beyond me. This is not me. This is not who I am. And this is not how I was raised. This is not my background. It is not my history. It is not me.

When Peter denied Jesus three times (watch this), the enemy was working behind the scenes to encourage Peter’s spiritual failure. For us Christians, there is a lot we can learn from Peter’s failures. We must always remain alert to detect our adversary's activity and devices so we can resist him and stand firm in the Christian faith. We must also stay in the center of God’s will so that we don’t give the enemy a prospect (a chance or opportunity) to harm or hurt us.

Jesus offers hope, a road to spiritual recovery, and future ministry usefulness to all fallen Christians. The good news for us is that the Lord Jesus is our intercessor, and He knows when you are moving toward the place of failure and stumbling. [Watch this now] – if you belong to Jesus, He has already prayed for you that your faith will not fail, and if you fail Jesus like Peter, your faith will not fail because He has prayed for you. What a picture of love and compassion Jesus demonstrated in the life of Peter.

The Bible says that when Peter denied the Lord, “… he ran out and wept bitterly.” He cried like a baby because he didn’t think he could ever do that. So shaken up was Peter that in John 21, verse 3, Simon Peter went back to his old life. “I am going fishing.” Peter left the fishing business for about three years because he was with Jesus. And then, in Luke chapter 5, Jesus came to Peter and told him, “… follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”And the Bible says, “Peter dropped his nets and followed Jesus immediately.”

Like most Christians who come to Jesus, Peter left his old life behind and was now walking with Jesus. He put the boat, the nets, and everything else down for three years and followed Jesus faithfully. What an event this was for Peter! Jesus had twelve (12) disciples, but Jesus also had three disciples who were part of His inner circle [Peter, James and John], and Peter was one of them. Peter got to see miracle after miracle after miracle. He got to see people raised from the dead. He got to see 5,000 men being fed by Jesus. He got to see blind people seeing. He got to see Jesus was the real deal for three years. But when he messed up and apostatized, he said, “I am going back to fishing.” “I am going back to my old life.” Peter thought there was no hope [Peter throw in the towel], and he became disillusioned and discouraged.

Have you ever lost hope because of life circumstances? Are you discouraged today [right now] and feeling a sense of neglect? Let’s talk about Peter’s restoration to give you hope for the future. In John 21, starting from verse 15. In the text, “Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” In Matthew 16, Jesus tells Peter, “Simon, you shall no longer be Simon. We will now call you Peter.” .” In Greek, Peter’s name is petros, which means “stone.” Jesus said, “You are my leader.” You are my [main man]. He doesn’t call him Peter. Jesus calls him by his old name because he has returned to his old ways (to his old life). So, guess what? Jesus gave Peter a name that is consistent with his ways. Peter went back to fishing. He went back to his old ways, so Jesus said, let me call you by your old name. Simon

The word Simon means pebble (little stone), and the word Peter means stone. Jesus said, “When you were doing your thing like I want you to do your thing, I took a pebble (small stone), and I turned it into a large stone. But now you have gone backward on me, I take a stone and will make you a little pebble again. A small thing. Do you still love me – Peter? Peter had gone back to his failure. Jesus recognizes that in his name.

We often use the word love, but the word love that Jesus uses here in this verse has different meanings. The word love has more than one meaning in the Greek language. The word Jesus used here is agape, [which is] God’s self-sacrificing love. Do you love me like you thought you loved me? Do you agape me like you thought you agape me?

Peter said to Jesus, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” When you read Peter’s response, you will think he agrees with Jesus. But he does not. Jesus says, “Peter, do you agape me?”Peter answers, “Yes Lord, you know I phileo [Feel-lo] you.” Phileo, the word Peter uses, means friendship as opposed to agape, which is God’s self-sacrificing love. Peter said I love you with the “Philadelphia style” because the Greek word phileo [Feel-lo] is where we get Philadelphia from, the city of brotherly love. Jesus asked Peter – do you have a hundred percent (100%) love for you? Peter responded, “No, I love you, but my love for you is only 60%.”

Remember, Peter denied Jesus three times, so Jesus asked him the second time. In verse 16, “Simon, son of John, do you agape me? He said to Him, yes, Lord, you know that I phileo [Feel-lo] you.”

I like you like a brother. “Then Jesus …” in verse 17, “… says to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you phileo me?” The third time, Jesus changes his word to which the Bible says, “Peter was grieved (he was hurt) because Jesus said to him the third time “Do you phileo [Feel-lo] Me?” Why is Peter grieved? Do you remember how many times Peter denied Jesus? He denied the Lord three times. What Jesus is doing is making a connection to Peter’s failure.

Jesus is taking Peter back to his failure and defeat, and it breaks Peter’s heart. Peter is hurt and upset that he has to remember where he messed up. Do we have anyone here today who has messed up, and your mind takes you back to it, or something reminds you of it? Or maybe someone reminds you of it. And you are hurt and grieving like a baby?

Application

One of our problems today is that we don’t believe that Jesus knows everything about us. It is hard for a man to admit and say, “I am not nearly the man I thought I was.” One problem is that we are not making progress; God doesn’t have anything to work with because we are already there. We think we are a finished product ready to be used by God. And God is saying I am still working on you. We talk, and we act like we are already there. You will often hear this in our prayers. And our prayers would be different if we knew what Jesus knows about us.

Why is my life not getting better? Because God is still giving Satan permission to sift you like wheat, God will let the sifting occur until you get the message. Watch this now. One of the ways you know God is not finished letting the devil jack you up is He can’t use you to serve. If God can’t use you to serve in the church, you don’t love Him. God is not looking for a phileo [Feel-lo]– a 60% love for Him. God is looking for agape - 100% love from you and me.

So, don’t talk about agape if a phileo [Feel-lo] can’t get you off the pew. So, don’t talk about agape if you have a phileo [Feel-lo] mindset. Don’t talk about agape if phileo [Feel-lo] can’t get you serving and helping the family of God because, in John 3 verse 16, Jesus said, “For God so agaped the world, that He gave His only begotten son. God wants to get us from phileo [Feel-lo] to agape. To love Him and to love other people.

Conclusion

Despite Peter’s failures, he loved the Lord and was not ashamed to admit his love for Jesus. The take-home message and lesson learned from this is the love of Christ is the only acceptable (appropriate) motive for serving Him. All I am saying to you today is God knows the worst about you—the absolute worst about you and me. And if Jesus has given the devil permission to jack you up, it doesn’t matter where you go or who you talk to. It doesn’t matter what changes you make; you will never get away from it until you face it. Because it is a spiritual issue, you can’t drink your way out of it. You can’t drug your way out of it. You can’t see your way out of it.

But the other side of that coin is while God knows the worst thing about you, He also knows the best thing about you. When Peter got things straight and right with God, he was restored, and God could use him. Peter got things right with God, and God powerfully used him on the Day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts, and 3000 folks got saved. God was able to use Peter when He unveiled what was wrong with him. God wants to fix what is wrong with you before He can use you. God will meet you where you are, but you must be honest and true with Him. God bless you. Stand on your feet. Bow your heads and close your eyes. Let’s go to God in prayer.

Benediction

Our Father, we thank you for every way you have spoken to us through your Word.

We pray that You will cause us to know Your great gospel and that You will root in our hearts a hope in Christ that pulls us on to the future—not fearfully, not boastfully, but resting certainly in You and Your grace, mercy, and goodness. Lord, we pray that You would strengthen our faith as we feed on this hope through our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask that you enable us to live out our faith. By your Holy Spirit, fill us and help us to understand your Word. Brighten our hearts to obey You each day. And Lord, we pray You teach us to surrender ourselves to You to live for Christ truly. We ask for all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

God bless you. We will see you next week at 10:30 a.m.