Lessons From Peter

I was praying about what to speak this Sunday a couple weeks ago and I felt like I was supposed to preach on a character from the Bible.

I didn't know what character but I knew I was supposed to base my message around someone specific.

Then I went to a Pastor’s conference in Traverse City where one of the Pastors that was going to speak came up and said that he had a message he was going to preach but felt led to go a different direction and have ministry time.

But he said he was going to talk about PETER.

As soon as he said that name something stirred in my spirit and I knew that was who I was supposed to preach on.

So my message this morning is called, “Lessons From Peter”.

I’m going to share 3 things we can learn from the life of Peter.

Peter is an interesting character for sure.

Some of you may think that because Peter was a disciple he was probably this incredible man who was almost perfect.

That the only mistake he made was when he famously denied Jesus 3 times.

Well you’re going to see today that is not the case.

You’re going to see that you probably have way more in common with Peter than you thought.

So what I want to do is go through different scenarios in Peter’s life and see what we can learn from him.

I want to start with when Jesus first calls Peter.

There’s a couple different scriptures that can confuse people because it seems like two totally different stories of when Jesus calls Peter.

The first one is in John 1.

John the Baptist points out to two of his disciples, Andrew and an unknown disciple who most people believe is John, that Jesus is the Lamb of God.

So these two go and start to follow Jesus.

Then look at verse 40.

John 1:40-42 NIV “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).”

Think about this moment for a second.

Andrew tells his brother that this guy is the Messiah and when his brother SIMON meets him Jesus just says, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas”

That’s like someone I’ve never met coming up to me after church and saying their name is Jim and I just look at them and say, “Your name is Jim? From now on you will be called Billy Bob!”

And that’s the end of the conversation.

That’s not when Peter started following Jesus.

That was his first interaction with Jesus.

We see the story in Luke 5 where Peter begins to follow Jesus.

Jesus is talking to a large crowd by the sea and so he goes into a boat that was at the shore.

This boat happened to be Peter’s.

After He speaks he tells Peter to go out into the deep and cast his nets.

This is when Peter responds.

John 5:5-11 Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. 8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”

Anyone ever felt that way with God before.

Like you’re not worthy of Him.

That was Peter in this moment.

I’m a sinful man, I don’t for you to be in my boat.

9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

THEY LEFT EVERYTHING!

They just caught more fish than they probably ever have and just left it there.

That was their livelihood.

That was a lot of money.

So the first thing we can learn from Peter.

Jesus Is Worth Giving Up Everything

In that moment I think Peter realized that Jesus WAS the Messiah and knew nothing can compare to being in the presence of the Messiah.

So many people in that situation would’ve tried to negotiate with Jesus.

“But Jesus, can we sell our fish first?”

“Can we at least bring a whole bunch of baskets full of fish?”

But Peter knew Jesus was worth more than all of that.

How many people today haven’t truly surrendered their life to Christ because they can’t give something up?

Something that they know God wants them to release but they can’t seem to do it.

Maybe it’s a relationship or maybe you know God is calling you to another job but you can’t let go of the security you have at your current job?

I’m here to tell you that Jesus is worth giving up EVERYTHING for.

Only Jesus can give you what you’re really looking for.

Another thing that stands out to me in that verse is it said, “And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.”

They didn’t need to process this decision.

They didn’t need to talk it over with their family for 6 months.

IMMEDIATELY they followed Jesus.

So many people today, especially young people, think that they’ll give their whole heart to God later.

Maybe when I’m out of college after I enjoy the college experience.

Or maybe once I have kids and want to settle down a little more.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but not a single one of us is guaranteed tomorrow.

I’m sure many of you have experienced tragic deaths in your lives.

Loved ones passing away unexpectedly.

The truth is we don’t know when it’s our time.

That’s why we give altar calls at the end of every message.

I remember Pastor Doug telling a story about how they were at a men’s archery event and he decided not to share his devotional.

There was a man there that was not a believer and that week was killed in a car accident.

Pastor Doug was devastated because he had an opportunity to share the gospel with this man and he chose not to and now he was gone.

We don’t know how long we are going to be here and you can’t afford to wait.

Jesus wants your heart NOW.

Don’t put it off but give your heart to Him.

Another lesson we can learn from Peter comes from the famous story of Jesus walking on water.

In Matthew 14 the disciples are out at sea and a bad storm comes in.

It’s about 3am.

And all of a sudden they see someone walking towards them on the water.

Jesus then tells them, “Don’t be afraid”.

Jesus had a weird sense of humor.

Multiple time He would appear out of nowhere and scare the tar out of people and just say, “Don’t be afraid.”

My wife would’ve died of a heart attack if she hung out with Jesus.

So Peter then says, “If it’s really you Lord then tell me to come to you by walking on water.”

Many of you know what happens next.

Matthew 14:29-32 “...So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.”

Quit Focusing On The Storms Around You And Keep Your Eyes On Jesus

It’s interesting that Jesus told Peter that he had little faith.

Because to me Peter had GREAT faith.

You don’t think it took faith to step out of that boat and onto the water?

He had faith in that moment because he was focused on Jesus.

But as soon as he got out onto the water and saw the storm in full force and the size of the waves his faith started to dwindle.

Because now his attention was on the storm and not the person who has the power to calm the storm.

So many people focus on their circumstances and trials which in turn causes worry and anxiety.

Instead of keeping their focus on Jesus and trusting that He has the power to change your situation in a heartbeat.

Keeping your eyes on Jesus doesn’t mean you can’t acknowledge you’re in a storm.

I’m sure Peter was feeling the effects of the storm as he started walking.

He could feel the wind blowing and the water was probably splashing him in the face.

He knew he was in the storm, he just knew that Jesus was greater than the storm.

Keeping your eyes on Jesus doesn’t mean you can’t acknowledge you’re sick, or that things aren’t going well at home or at work.

Some people think they have to live in denial and that’s real faith.

Real faith is acknowledging your surroundings but not living in fear or worry because we serve a God who has the power to change EVERYTHING in a moment's notice!

As soon as Peter took his eyes off Jesus, fear and worry started to take over.

And he started to sink.

Many people today are sinking because they have the wrong focus.

Trust and believe!

The third lesson we can learn from Peter comes from one of his biggest mistakes.

Earlier in the night that Jesus was arrested He warned Peter that he would deny him 3 times before the rooster crows.

Of course Peter was offended that Jesus would suggest such a thing.

But sure enough after Jesus was arrested and the night went on Peter did what he never thought he would do.

Matthew 26:69-75 “Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. 71 Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said. 73 A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.” 74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.”

Peter did the unthinkable.

He denied Jesus.

He committed a terrible sin.

It’s over for him right?

Jesus can’t use a man who under pressure denies he’s a follower of Christ.

But the story doesn’t end there.

In John 21 we see that Jesus is not done with Peter.

Peter and some disciples were fishing and Jesus yells out and tells them to throw the nets to the other side because they weren’t catching anything.

All of a sudden their nets were full.

They remember this miracle from before and they knew it was Jesus.

So John tells us that Peter jumped into the water to swim back to shore.

They all get to shore and Jesus is cooking breakfast for them.

And during this time Jesus asks Peter an interesting question.

John 21:15-17 “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

Think of this.

This wasn’t Peter’s only mistake he’s made.

When Jesus told them He was going to be crucified Peter REBUKED Jesus and said that will never happen.

Jesus then said, “Get behind me satan!”

Obviously, he messed up when he lost faith on the water.

Later on in Galatians 2 we see Paul had to rebuke Peter in public because Peter was eating with the Gentiles and didn’t see a problem with that but when other Jewish men showed up he wouldn’t sit with them.

He was afraid he would be criticized.

And Paul called him out.

You see Peter made a lot of mistakes in his life

But that’s why this third lesson is so important that we learn from him.

God Uses Ordinary Sinful People To Do Extraordinary Things

Even after everything Peter did.

After Jesus asked him 3 times if he loved Him.

He says, “Feed my sheep”.

Meaning, take care of my church.

After all the mistakes Peter made Jesus still chose him to build his church.

On the day of Pentecost who did the Holy Spirit use to preach where 3,000 people were saved? PETER!

Peter was a key leader in the early church.

I believe Jesus chose Peter for this because he wanted to show that you don’t have to be perfect to be used.

That He can use you know matter what you’ve done.

But the key to all of this was Peter’s heart.

Even through all his blunders, Peter was zealous for Jesus.

He wanted to do what was right.

That’s why he rebuked Jesus when He said He would be crucified.

That’s why he cut off the ear of a Roman soldier who was arresting Jesus.

That’s why he jumped out of the boat and swam to shore when he knew it was Jesus.

Peter made mistakes just like you and I have.

But he had a heart for Jesus.

He wanted to do what was right.

And because of that he was able to move past his blunders and do some incredible things!

If God can do that with Peter, He can do that with you!

So what can we learn from Peter?

Jesus is worth giving up everything

Quit Focusing On The Storms Around You And Keep Your Eyes On Jesus

God Uses Ordinary Sinful People To Do Extraordinary Things

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