3/31/2019

Are scripture reading for this Sunday? Last day of March when we come back, it'll be April scripture reading for this Sunday is from Matthew chapter 26 verses 31 through 35 and chapter 26 vs 69 through 75.

Then Jesus said to them you will all become deserters because because of me this night for it is written. I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galloway Peter said to him I will go ahead of you to Galilee Peter said to him though all become deserters because of you. I will never desert you. Jesus said to him truly. I tell you this very night before the cock crows. You will deny me three times Peter said to him even though I must die with you I will not deny you and so set all the disciples now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard a servant girl came to him and said you also were with Jesus the Galilean, but he denied it before all of them saying I do not know what you're talkin about. When he went out to the porch another servant girl saw him and she said to the bystanders this man was with his with Jesus of Nazareth. Again. He denied it with a note. I do not know the man after a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter certainly you are also one of them for your accent betrays you then he began to curse and he swore an oath. I do not know the man at that moment the cock crowed then Peter remembered what Jesus said said before the cock crows. You will deny me three times and he went out and wept bitterly the word of God for the people of God.

Thank you stuff.

What is prey?

Lord May the meditations of our hearts in the words of my lips be pleasing in your side. our Rock

and Our Redeemer amen

My sermon creation process is pretty well standard.

I don't do manuscript. But sometimes the Holy Spirit just kind of talks. And you find yourself writing a manuscript on Sunday morning? I have three quarters of a manuscript. I don't know what that means for y'all it. It means that they're going to be a little a little while. I hopefully it'll it'll bless you this continues our series on Peter. On Simon Peter and hopefully if you've had a chance to get into one of the Bible studies or in into or to get a book, I want to explain for a little bit a second about this pricope of scripture. We we start and then

and then we stopped so we start at 31 and then we go to 35. So it was when it says and so said all the disciples, okay, a lot happens between there and the next line. Okay things like the garden of descending mean The prayer of the disciples fall asleep to disciples waking up judas's kiss Jesus before the Sanhedrin and and then you get to Peter. Okay, but with this whole night is really jam-packed because when Jesus tells us to Peter, it's immediately after the Last Supper. It's like there's so much crammed into one space. So not only does Jesus say you're going to deny me three times, but you're going to deny me three times by tomorrow morning.

2 Peter Begins by denying his future denial out of all the people to deny Christ. Certainly. It wouldn't be the son the one who claimed who first named him as the son of the Living God. The Miracle Worker the one who walked on water

He would never deny the one who called him out of the boat who saved him from drowning. The one who calmed the storm. The one who showed him where the fish were and how to fish for people. the Messiah Who lived in his own home eight meals prepared by his wife and mother? out of all the people who could deny Jesus it would not be Peter. except that it was

if it was Peter it is also us. It is you it is me it is everyone we meet at some point in time pushed by just the right set of circumstances the right kind of risk the wrong kind of Temptation the perfect storm in our own lives.

Let's take a closer look.

at Peter's denial

he was alone. isolated and vulnerable he was at risk the most kind of risky risk the risk of his life.

He was no longer the same. after witnessing judas's kiss Jesus's arrest after being so originally passionate that he cut off the ear of a Roman guard. By the way, he wasn't aiming for his ear.

Peter was no Warrior. He was a fisherman. If Jesus was going to turn over the power structure of this world. He picked the wrong crew. Certainly the wrong man. Warriors would know how to adapt how to fight how to mask their accent how to destroy all Peter knew was how to deny. To try to save his own life. To try to get back home to the familiar. But there's no going back. He had given everything to follow Jesus. Giving up his business. Is relationships his way of life for the for the past three years. He was part public relations rep part gatekeeper part small group leader part Logistics manager and part student to the greatest teacher the world has ever known.

But his teacher was about to die. And he knew it.

That changed everything. and nothing Would ever be the same ever again even his goal for this night? Would simply be survival?

Jesus uses Peter's denial to Dodd's advantage He did not tell Peter that it would be okay to deny him.

But Peters didn't Peter's denial.

rather Peter survival Is the basis of the church's Foundation? Our founding Pastor has denied his savior. Why do we think we would be any better?

We are no better than Peter. we are just different we are as much a fish out of water in some circumstances than a fisherman with a sword in the middle of the night. What we know what we feel what we expect and how we live is called to be in tension with the world around us, but this tension can lead to our denial. It happens in in subtle ways.

It happens with our understanding of the world around us.

Let me talk to the men in the room for a second.

Have you ever been tempted? to Tamper down your face to save your masculinity I'm sorry. I'm starting to preach. Have you ever been tempted?

to Tamper down your face

to be more acceptable as a man. Like our world has tricked us in ways that amaze me.

We are as men are called to love those who God have created.

We're called to share with our children what it means to love our spouse. Were called to share with others what it means to pray. In the most difficult thing often for us to do is to pray in public places. Lest we make others uncomfortable.

So much of our identity. as men in in the world around us is I would sport right like we are convinced especially at this time of year that if we would just have chosen to play baseball more that we could be somehow traveling every day and playing ball and making millions of dollars. We just chose not to

I admitted I like the Recaps of the MMA fights. like sometimes you just watch people get knocked out and you like

and if you think we'll like I could have done better than they could. I went out to one live boxing match. When am I?

Fellow students in school and high school went to a college and they had a boxing club in this Boxing Club rented out this Arena and you could come watch your friend fight. And so we went my friend is probably like in the hundred 40 lb category and they line you up this way and they give you the headgear. That's how you know, it's like a really amateur event. Right and you're like, oh, yeah and you get really into it at first you like go get it and you know smash his face then and then the guy gets in the ring never noticed how you can look at two different people that claim to be 140 lb, but one person looks kind of wimpy and the other person looks like a Spartan God that's kind of this scenario, right and immediately. I felt for this friend and he was like a friend friend, but he was a friend of a friend and I got the free ticket, right? Like I didn't have a whole lot of vested interests. And so I just like shout it out and then like that and they started Initially, I was like, yeah go put no protect your face protect your face 40 seconds later. I was like stop the fight. Get out of the ring. You are a computer programmer protect your head. But like the idea of masculinity what it means to be a man is somehow intertwined with this idea of violence in in our culture in our in our world and end. There's this other part of the switches this idea of what it means to be a man is somehow to not be a person of Faith right like that. If we somehow were people of Faith then that makes us more Feminine not that's negative. I got three sisters. Like that, that's somehow. It changes us, right. And like so in what ways have we been pressured to deny Jesus or Jesus's call on our life. Just simply by living. It happens in subtle ways. It happens in ways that if we don't pay attention pretty soon we can hear the rooster crow. Do we can realize that we spend entire times of Our Lives denying the power of Jesus? Here's the beauty. a Peter story

Don uses Peter's denial forgot aadvantage you don't. You don't get it from from this from this particular pericope. Actually you have to go to the 21st chapter of John. in order to find God's most favorite work at play. See God's most favorite work is the work of redemption. Like if God was a sports fan like Redemption would be March Madness. God loves offering Redemption

so this is like You know, I like the last supper right like the thing before the scriptures the last supper. Okay. I'm going to do something new what I call the first breakfast. Okay, and so the first breakfast happens Jesus shows up on shore. He's already shown up a couple times and John after being raised from the dead but he shows up on shore and guess what Peter's back in the boat? Okay Peters back in the boat. He's out to see their fishing. It doesn't say how successfully is and guess what Jesus hollers out to the people in the boat.

Jesus has a awesome wit. Cast your net on the other side. Give me the original story. That's what Jesus said. So he says that and immediately Peter knows that it's Jesus. So we talked and some clothes on some reason he was fishing naked and jumps into the water. and swims to Jesus and let's them bring in the amount of fish and tell Jesus Jesus Takes this fish and tells him, you know, let's go eat breakfast, okay. Super having this meal of fish. And I'm sure Peter. Was so happy to see Jesus. But listen to what Jesus says to Peter. When they finish breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter. Simon son of John do you love me more than these?

I think I kind of like Matt the other disciples like you love me more than everybody else here. He said to him. Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him feed my Lambs. A second time. He said to him Simon son of John do you love me? He said to him. Yes, Lord. You know that. I love you. Jesus said to him tend my sheep.

He said to him the third time. I wonder if this is when it clicked for Peter.

Simon son of John Do you love me? Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time do you love me? And he said to him Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you. Jesus said to him feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you when you were younger. You used to fasten your own belt and go wherever you wished, but you went when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go. He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God. after this he said Follow me.

Peter isn't defined

by his denial nor are we defined? Buy hours

This holy Act. of redemption

What does it mean to be redeemed?

my first job and it was at a grocery store called Fairway and Fairway. You had a part of the store that offered can redemption. And I want anytime you buy a soda. Can you pay $0.05 K anytime you return a soda can to a grocery store? They have to collect them and give you $0.05 for each can that you collect? Like the earliest Girl Scout cookie thing. So each can would then have to be sorted to go back to his various distributor for recycle. But as a person that had to sort cans I can tell you that each can was not the same. Some cans were like the stomped on cans. You have to lay them flat. And there were some cans that were like the crushed manly cans. Can I have to watch out for the shards on the sides and some cans were the late 80s early 90s smoke in the car cans that would just catch all of the cigarette ashes and cigarette butts in the thing about those cans was get to clean those out before you could send them back. It so I can tell you that each cost different in order to redeem but each was the same value for Redemption. It's just like God. We each have the same value. And that value is priceless. It was the same value that Peter has. the same value that you have the same value that everyone we come in contact has and that is God is constantly at this work of offering Redemption. So we aren't defined by any of the times we may have denied Jesus.

We're just fine by the Redemptive power of God that we are Priceless in God's eyes while God might be like in thought of as a sports fan. He's a really weird kind of sports fan. He doesn't keep score. Yankees score he doesn't remember all of that.

Because of Jesus's gift. And so this morning if you're here because you have felt as though you have somehow denied your faith if you see yourself in Peter's so much. That you're convinced that nothing can fix that. I want you to know that you are Priceless in God's eyes. And if you are here this morning. And somehow convinced that someone who you know is not Priceless in God's eyes. I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. And that they are. no matter how

distorted no matter how they've lived or how they love.

Everyone has access to Redemption.

bats

that's a main point in the story in the whole gospel is God's redeeming love.

You know, the funny thing about humanity is we can kind of get tired of redemption. Because Redemption is messy stuff.

Ten Years After I started working at Fareway grocery stores long after I left that job. The groceries in the state tried to convince the state they no longer wanted to redeem cans in the store. They were too dirty into Messi. How many times are we tempted by the ways of this world? Just say you will maybe not all Redemption can happen in this place. Is a fact is Redemption is Messi.

risky

But it's the work of God. Is the work of God that has brought us here. Because God offered this redeeming love. 2 Peter The Rock

when Jesus calls Peter The Rock he knows he's going to deny him, but he still calls and The Rock.

Just as much as Peter knows God knows our story as well.

God knows our struggle.

God knows our needs God knows our heart.

Peter says to Jesus You know everything. You know everything.

You know that I love you.

God knows you love God, too.

Let us pray.

Oh my God as we

seek to feel your love. to share it with others to offer reminders to others that your love conquers all

remind us

of your power of redemption

even when we deny

I'm in.