Peter Strengthen Your Brothers
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Introduction
Introduction
Our journey through Christ’s Last 2 Days Death Resurrection Ascension
I felt God telling me to stop and talk about one man, tonight.
I felt God telling me to stop and talk about one man, tonight.
That man is....Peter
I just felt God telling me Peter, look at Peter.... So I did, more than I have ever really looked at him.
I realized something about Peter, I’m not much different from him and maybe you aren’t either....
Before we get into who Peter was let’s read a passage from the man he would become...
Turn with me to
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These words are so inspiring, and insightful, and wise, but the man who wrote these words did not always live up to these same ideals.
1 Peter 5:1 Peter refers to himself as a witness of the suffering of Christ; yet he was not there when Jesus was hanging on the cross, he was hiding in fear of his own life.
Peter did witness Christ suffer as he was beaten and mocked as he was brought before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. He was not lying in this passage, but for the cross he was nowhere to be found.
The man who calls us to be eager to serve in (1 Peter 5:2) sat down as Jesus washed the disciples feet.
The man who tells us that we should be clear-minded and self-controlled so that we can pray (1 Peter 4:7) fell asleep while Jesus was sweating blood.
The man who so boldly tells us, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority” (1 Peter 2:13 NIV) lopped off the soldier Malchus’s ear in the garden (John 18:10–11).
None of this is meant to demean Peter. The point is to give us hope.
Look with me in
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
Jesus meets Simon and the first thing He does is gives him a new name Cephas or Peter in the Greek and that new name means the Rock. This new name is a declaration by Jesus of how he would transform Peter’s character and how he would use him in relationship with the foundation of the church. Upon this Rock I will build my church…wow, and I find it difficult to run the youth group imagine the church being built on you...
Think of how God uses the people he gives new names to...
Abram became Abraham father of many nations
Sarai became Sarah mother of many nations
Jacob became Israel because he wrestled with God, very indicative of how Israel has been since the time of Jacob
Now Simon becomes Peter…but
Peter is a very impulsive person. Twice he jumped out of a boat, fully clothed. He challenged Jesus repeatedly; he spoke out of turn; and, at times, it just seemed his mouth and body were ahead of his brain.
Turn with me to
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
How quickly Peter was to confess Jesus as Christ or Messiah, but then look what happens in that same chapter...
Peter cannot seem to get the points that Jesus was trying to make and would be quick to argue with Jesus because death was the END ALL to Peter, and that’s a test Peter is going to fail at miserably...
Turn with me to
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;
32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, 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.”
Jesus can say to Peter, “when once you have turned again” because He knows Peter’s heart and He knows what its going to take for Peter to be willing to die, but Peter isn’t there yet he isn’t willing to die, none of them are.
Look what Jesus says after “when once you have turned again, he says, Strengthen your brothers.”
What is it going to take to turn Peter’s cowardice into bravery to the point of martyrdom?
Turn with Me to John Chapter 21
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.
I believe Jesus asked Peter if He Loved him three times because he knew that Peter would remember the three times he denied Him. He needed Peter to see that His denial and his cowardice was now over. We see that in the next passage...
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!”
Oh how powerful is this? Jesus standing before Peter and telling him he would die the same death as Him, then he encourages him to be brave by telling him to FOLLOW ME!
Now we understand how Peter can write those inspiring words from 2 Peter 1
Look back there now and lets see what else Peter had to say...
9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
If anyone understood the way into the kingdom it was Peter who was called by his Lord and Savior to love Him unto death...
It took time and effort, but God transformed him.
And the same Holy Spirit who worked this transformation in Peter’s life is actively at work transforming me and you, because we placed our faith in Christ Jesus.
Understand one thing that Christ was calling Peter to do....To love Him to death....To be willing to die for Christ…Peter and none of the others were willing to die that’s why they all fled and left Jesus alone. But Jesus said when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Peter when your willing to die for me, strengthen your brothers to be willing to do the same.
We see in Acts 5:41-42 that they were strengthened and willing to suffer and even die. Peter did what Christ commanded.
41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Jesus says to a crowd in Luke 14 some very hard to swallow words…if read and not studied these words can seem impossible to agree to, but they mean something deeper than the one single word indicates.
26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
So Jesus tells us to HATE?....but our greatest command is to love?…what does He mean then?
He means that the love you have for Him should be so great that by comparison your love for others should seem like hate.
Jesus tells us to be willing to put our lives on the line to be willing to die...
I wish I had the time to break down all of these scriptures and give you a deeper exegesis of each one.
In....
39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
This passage says so much and could’ve spell disaster for our Bro Peter. Peter was so worried about losing his life, he could have lost it eternally, but the Lord had bigger and better plans for him. I hope and pray that we can look to Peter and see how a man who was afraid of dying for Christ, found faith that led him to die a horrible crucifixion of his own. All because he followed his Lord and savior. I promise you Peter
21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
