Christ’s Gracious Restoration
Notes
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15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.”
16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
18 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
19 Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
The Context of Restoration
The Context of Restoration
This morning we see this beautiful picture of Christ restoring Peter from his denial of Christ.
I want us to look at two scenes in which Peter makes a statement that Jesus is taking Peter back to…
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.’
28 “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”
29 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.”
30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that today, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.”
31 But Peter kept saying insistently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”
Peter is insistent that he loves Jesus more than all.
Peter is confident that he will never desert, nor deny Jesus.
Peter just keeps repeating, insistently that he is not going to deny Jesus.
Let’s look through a different window of the same conversation in…
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat.
32 “But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have returned, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”
34 And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”
Here Jesus informs Peter of Satan’s request to sift Peter like wheat.
The imagery is that of removing the chaff from the wheat.
I can’t help but go back to Job in which the Devil says to God…
The only reason Job is faithful to you is because of your blessing and protecting Him.
Jesus says to Satan, “Sift him.”
And Jesus tells Peter, “He’s going to sift you. And you’ll deny me three times.”
—BUT—
And, this three letter word is so important here…
32 “But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have returned, strengthen your brothers.”
Peter is told by Jesus to be ready.
The sifting has been granted and a result will be the denial…
But, an even greater result is that Peter’s faith will not fail.
Why?
Because of the intercession of our Savior on our behalf.
And, in this we see…
The Power of Preservation
The Power of Preservation
The power in Peter’s preservation and his return into the experience of the reality…
Which was a reconciled relationship with God in Christ…
The power in Peter’s preservation was Christ:
He keeps us to the end.
He begins the work and brings it to completion.
He uses all circumstances for our good and His glory.
He gives us His HS to dwell within us and seal us as a guarantee for our inheritance in Christ.
He gives us His HS to work in us to want and to do.
He gives us a new heart to love Him.
He gives us a new heart that gives new affections that allow us to walk in His ways.
He gives us a new heart that may wonder, but by His leading comes back into the fold after straying.
He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
Peter’s preservation is by and through the power of Christ in the redemption of Christ.
And, dear Christian ours is too.
Application:
Application:
Is this type of preserving prayer limited to this one instance?
Is it limited to Peter?
Is it limited to the Apostles?
26 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
So, to go back to the previous questions…
Is this type of preserving prayer:
Limited to this one instance? NO
Is it limited to Peter? NO
Is it limited to the Apostles? NO
This type of prayer never ceases.
And, it is for all who are in union with Christ by faith.
We persevere because we are preserved by the powerful intercession of Christ.
And, the omnipotent hand of God towards those in union with His Son.
Now, is this sifting for the mere enjoyment of Satan and a “told you so” by the Lord?
Or is there purpose intended to bless us?
Is there purpose intended to sanctify us?
We’re about to see that the result of this sifting drives Peter into a recognition he needed see of himself.
And, a confession he needed to confess.
Peter Makes the Good Confession
Peter Makes the Good Confession
Recall with me, Peter’s state of mind, his perceived reality of the circumstances and of self.
29 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.”
31 But Peter kept saying insistently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”
Peter’s confession pre-sifting was confidence in self.
Peter’s confession pre-sifting is that the Lord did not truly know or understand who Peter truly was.
Peter was doing the treacherous thing that started all the way back at the Fall.
Peter was leaning on his own understanding.
He felt that Christ was not being just in His verdict of Peter’s soon denial of the Lord.
But, as we just read that God works all things for our good and His glory.
What did the sifting actually do to Peter?
How was there sanctification in Peter’s life because of the sifting that Jesus allowed Peter to go through?
Let’s look at how Peter responds after being sifted…
There’s not doubt that Christ asks Peter three times to bring Peter back to the three-fold denial.
15…“Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
16…“Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
This is a far cry different than Peter’s boastful declaration that he would never deny Christ.
This is a far cry different than Peter’s boast that Jesus wasn’t being just in His declaration of Peter’s weakness.
Peter’s not crying watch and you will see.
Peter wasn’t crying out a past history of faithfulness.
Peter is humbly saying I love you…
But I will leave the truth of it to your knowledge.
I will declare my love for you.
But, I leave it to you to know and declare justly.
Peter catches the third questions as a specific pointer to his three-fold denial…
And it grieves him.
It recalls his confidence in self.
It recalls his doubting the Lord’s justice in the declaration that he would deny Christ.
And, Peter has learned, he’s been humbled…
He’s been taught the dangers of trusting in self…
And, he’s been reminded through teaching and experience that the only place to put your trust, is in Christ.
I cannot help but be reminded of Job.
Job did not have the things happen to him because of sin.
Neither did Peter.
But, Job eventually felt God was unjust in His allowing it to occur.
Peter felt Christ was being unjust in His pronouncement of Peter’s frailty and weakness to deny Christ.
Both Job and Peter were humbled in the end.
1 Then Job answered Yahweh and said, 2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too marvelous for me, which I did not know.
4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You make me know.’
This is after Job places his hand over his mouth…
4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I respond to You?
I place my hand over my mouth.
The demeanor of Job changed.
He declares that he has no right to declare anything.
But, that He will trust in the declaration of the Lord.
We see a similar response to Job’s, in Peter.
And, this is not Peter’s typical response.
And, brothers and sister’s that is a good thing.
He’s not so much declaring his love for Christ as much as he is saying, “Christ knows all things.”
Peter knows his recent behavior, his denial of Christ, does not show love for Christ…
But, Peter is saying…
I love you and I trust your omniscience to know that I love you…
Because You, Christ, are all I can rely on.
What a lesson learned by Peter for his sanctification!
What a beautiful picture of the restoring grace of Christ with His people?
And, that the sanctifying, restoring process is meant for our good, and the good of our service unto Christ.
Now, let’s think about this...
Now, let’s think about this...
Let’s ask some final questions for out time in this passage this morning…
Is this a restoration back into salvation?
Is this a restoration back into salvation?
Did Peter’s denial of Christ cause him to lose his salvation and now Peter is being saved again?
The answer is obviously no.
The Bible explicitly teaches us that we cannot lose our salvation.
Additionally, Jesus tells us so in…
32 “But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have returned, strengthen your brothers.”
Jesus tells us Peter’s faith was already alive and well.
It would be tested.
Peter would fail the test.
But, Peter’s faith would not fail.
So, if this is not a failure in Peter’s faith, what is it?
It is a failure in the expression of Peter’s faith.
Peter failed because he improperly, but not permanently, put faith in self over Christ.
But, Peter said what he did out of love for Christ…his love for Christ caused his zeal to be misplaced.
It was a misplaced hope and confidence in self.
Peter’s failure was one of weakness in a moment of temptation.
Due to a misplaced and erroneous confidence in self.
But, Peter’s failure was not caused by malice towards Christ.
Judas’ betrayal was malice.
Peter’s denial was based on weakness and a misplaced trust in self…in a weak moment.
And, here’s the good news…
15 …we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.
In the end we see a Savior who sympathizes with our weaknesses.
And, restores us, not to a state of salvation…
But, to a status of experiencing the joy of it.
A restoration to the experiential joy intended in our salvation…
That is fed by forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and restoration to joyous service unto our King.
Peter Never Lost Christ
Peter Never Lost Christ
But, he did lose joy of service to Christ.
And, he did so because of guilt.
And, Christ rushes in to remind Peter of:
the peace he has with God in Christ.
the forgiveness he has from God in Christ.
And, the reminder of these beautiful truths restores Peter, and us to joyous service unto our Lord.
How Many Christians?
How Many Christians?
How many Christians have failed in their service to the Lord?
And, rather than going back to the gospel have gone back to the Law.
And, are seeking to serve the Lord out of duty, out of guilt…
Rather than serving Him from joy.
And, if you fall into that trap, ministry will be miserable…
And, you will be constantly looking for something to convince you that you’ve won back the favor of the Lord…
And, as soon as something goes wrong you’ll convince yourself that you lost favor and need to serve harder, read more, pray more…
In order to regain favor with the Lord.
But, Jesus is telling us
We do not need to strive…
The victory is already won and we just need to rest in the victory we have in Jesus.
And, that Victory, the forgiveness, the peace with God…
Even when we fail is what should motivate us to serve the King.
We see once again, the Devil loses and is used as a pawn by the Lord to bring abiout the good of Christ’s sheep.
We are safe in the arms of our victorious King.
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
