Man Up

JANUARY 9, 2022 STUDY NOTES ACTS 2:14 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES MAN UP INTRODUCTION “Man Up” is a common term of today for a man to be the man that he should be I use it today to encourage men to be the man that God wants them to be This is “Men’s Day” at Prairie Grove Baptist, and I want the message to focus on men I want us to give our attention to a man by the name of Peter, his manhood and his message Consider who this man had been in the past, by occupation he was a fisherman (Matthew 4:18) His brother introduced him to Jesus and Jesus gave him the name of Peter the Rock (John 1:42) Jesus told Peter that he would be a fisher of men (Luke 5:10) which Peter is doing in Acts 2 Peter was called to be an Apostle and he is listed first in every list of the Apostles by name: Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:13-16; Jesus had a question that all of mankind will answer one day, Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? Peter confessed the truth of Jesus that day, Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Which is the message that Peter preached on Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41) Peter shared some great times with Jesus, the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-4) The “Last Supper” (John 13:3-9) The “Garden of Gethsemane” (Matthew 26:36-38) At that time Peter was a man ready to give his life for Jesus, he took up the sword for Jesus The soldiers came to arrest Jesus and take Him away to be crucified, Joh 18:10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Listen to the words of Jesus to Peter, Mat 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Mat 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? Mat 26:54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? (Scripture is being fulfilled today, all Scripture will be fulfilled) The point of Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost was, “Scripture is being fulfilled” Now, that which is hard to believe, Peter’s three denials of Jesus, the first one, Joh 18:17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not. The second denial, Mat 26:71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. Mat 26:72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. Peter denied Jesus for the third time, Mat 26:73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Mat 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. (Matthew 26:33-35) Men, if you find it hard to believe that Peter would deny Jesus, not just once, but three times Take-a look at yourself in the mirror of God’s Word, think of the past, consider the present “Man Up” to your failures, to your past promises, Man Up, confess your sins and repent “Man Up” as a Christian and you too will have a Sea of Galilee experience just like Peter Listen to the questions Jesus had for Peter, put yourself in the shoes of Peter (John 21:15-19) Page 1 of 3 Are you ready to answer question number one? Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? (Peter, do you love me 100%?) Men, do you understand the question? Do you really love Jesus? How much do you love Jesus? The question concerning Peter’s love caused Peter to remember his previous commitment Now Peter had to search his heart again concerning his commitment to Christ Did Peter love Jesus more, than he loved his friends and fellow fishermen? Did Peter love Jesus more, than he loved boats, nets, and fishing? Did Peter love Jesus more than anything and everything else? Peter was faced with the question, “Peter what do you love more than Jesus?” We must all answer the same question, “What do we love more than Jesus?” Is it your occupation? Is it your money? Is it your material possessions? Is it your favorite sport? Did Peter now love Jesus as he once claimed he did? Do you love Jesus with the love that you claim to have for him? Is it limited to Sunday only? In no area of our life is Jesus to be in second place, Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (With All) Is Christ preeminent in all things? (Col. 1:18) Are we more devoted to Christ than anything else? Men, are you ready to answer question number two? Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Again, Jesus used the strongest word possible to express love, “Peter, do you love me 100%?” Peter, do you have an unselfish, self-sacrificing love for me? Do you have the highest value of love that can be found? The love that can only come from God? This question goes deeper into the heart of Peter, no comparisons were made He is left only with his own heart to search, he must consider the depth of his devotion to Jesus Was it Jesus and Jesus alone that he loved so dearly? Men, are you ready to answer question number three? Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter had answered the first two questions the same way, “Yes Lord; you know I love you” In our English language, we only have one word which identifies “to love” In the Greek language, there are four words with the meaning of “to love” Each word from the Greek identifies with the depth of love being expressed In the first two questions Jesus used the same word for love, love that is the greatest, Joh 3:16 For God so “loved” the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We will call this love100% love, describing Divine love and self-sacrificing love Which is not the word Peter used in his answer to the first two questions The Greek word that Peter used to express love is not identical with the word that Jesus used Peter was now ready to “Man Up,” Peter had learned his lesson, no false claims before Jesus Peter would no longer claim to be something that he was not, no more boasting or bragging He was being totally honest with Jesus he was not trying to hide anything from Jesus The word Peter used for love expressed a very deep and personal affection Peter said, I am very fond of you, you have a very special place in my heart We must understand the way that love is used in this passage to understand our love for Jesus Jesus had asked, Peter, do you love me 100%? Peter had answered, Jesus, I love you 60% Peter was saying, “Lord, with the best that I now have, I love you” (Check your present love) Peter was probably saying, “Lord, I love you now, but I know that I can love you more” Peter had the desire to walk in a closer love relationship with the Lord (Do you?) Peter had denied his Lord three times, Jesus questioned Peter three times (Accountability) Jesus wanted the full attention of Peter, think about the past, think about today and tomorrow Jesus wanted to express to Peter in the strongest way possible what He was saying That appears to be the case when we see that the third question is different from the first two This time Jesus used the same word for love that Peter had been using, 60% love Page 2 of 3 Jesus was saying, “Peter do you really love me as much as you say that you do?” This question forced Peter to examine even closer what he had said (Time to “MAN UP”) Peter, are you really on the level of our love relationship that you say you are? Peter was deeply hurt because of this third question, because of the way Jesus had asked him Peter grieved because Jesus had questioned even the love that Peter claimed to have Jesus had brought Peter to where He wanted him, listen to Peter’s answer to the third question, And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Peter again used the same word for love that he had used twice before, 60% love He said Lord, you know everything and all things, Lord, there is nothing that you do not know Therefore, Lord, you know my heart, you know the love that I have for you And that is exactly where Jesus wanted Peter to be, the same place Jesus wants us to be Jesus wanted Peter to know that Jesus knew his heart We all need to understand that Jesus knows us Jesus knows the best about us, and Jesus knows the worst within us Nothing that we do is going to surprise Jesus, thank God for “Amazing Grace” The point is that Jesus knows us, and He still loves us, which we learn from Jesus’ 3 commands After each of Peter’s answers, Jesus gave Peter a command, proving God’s love for us When we confess our sins, He will forgive us and cleanse us, 1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (MAN UP) Having cleansed us from all unrighteousness, God is willing to use us in His service Jesus was ready for Peter to faithfully serve Him, look at what He told Peter (Yes, even Peter) After Peter’s first answer, “Feed my lambs,” after Peter’s 2nd answer, “Feed my sheep” In the original, Jesus does not use the same words in verse 16 that He used in verse 15 In verse 16, the word “feed” is to act as a “Shepherd” “Shepherd my sheep,” keep my sheep, lead my sheep to pasture The word “sheep” refers to the sheep that were under the care of the “Good Shepherd” After Peter’s 3rd answer, Jesus said, “Feed my sheep,” Jesus brought it all together In verse 17, Jesus combined words that He had used in the previous two verses “FEED” is the same word that He used in verse 15 “SHEEP” is the same word that He used in verse 16 By combining the words from all three verses, Jesus was showing Peter something important God’s love must minister to all people through God’s servants Jesus was teaching us how important the ministry of the Christian is today People must know that Jesus does love them, that Jesus still loves us today even after yesterday Consider Peter’s yesterday and now look at Peter’s today (What about your yesterday? Today?) After the Ascension of Jesus Peter preached the first sermon of the NT Church Age Act 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: “But Peter,” his name is the same, his looks are the same, “but” he is not the same man He is not the same man within that we read of 6 weeks earlier, when he denied Jesus 3 times What had happened to Peter to make such a change in him, he was now filled with the Spirit Peter takes his stand for His “Living Lord,” knowing that Jesus is alive, he loves Him 100% Peter had previously acted as a natural man and a coward, denying Jesus three times Now he stands before the crowd as a new man, a supernatural man, ready to “MAN UP” No longer denying Jesus, he presents and proclaims the truths of Jesus to the crowd Peter is now a “Man of God,” ready to “Man Up” for God, He could because of Jesus Jesus that loved him, who died for him, who lives for him, who will use him daily Page 3 of 3