So happy to be here. I want to offer my thanks for the great hospitality shown to those of us who came from far away for the meeting—for the fellowship we have had, the good food, and the snow you provided. Thank you very much.
I have really enjoyed the beauty of Richmond this year more than usual.
I want to share today a little bit out of the life of Peter—some of the things we learn from the way he progresses in the Lord. Peter has always been a favorite of mine, I guess I would say, mainly because he is portrayed so honestly in Scripture.
He is an everyman. He is an uncommon man. He is somebody easy to relate to. He had his ups, and he had his downs, and then he had his ups again. It is a lot like our life.
We can learn a lot, as we walk through our lives, from Peter and what he experienced, and then how his experience informed what he wrote in his letters to the church. His teaching rings so true because it is so obviously formed in him by his experiences as he walked with the Lord.
We will start at the beginning, I guess—usually a pretty good place to start—of his experience with the Lord. In Mark 1, we will read verse 16 and on:
And passing along by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishers.
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
And straightway they left their nets, and followed Him.
Of course, this is the Lord Jesus as He walks along the lake.
Lord Jesus, how we thank You today that You take notice of men, that You see us, and in Your great love You call us and bring us to know You, Who has given Himself for us. And so we thank You this morning, as we begin to look into Your Word, that there is truth and life and encouragement for us here. We ask that You would help us to find it, in Christ’s name. Amen.
Peter’s calling to walk with Christ makes a good theatrical scene. If you were a director and you were going to put together a documentary on the life of Peter, I do not know how you would start or where you would start, but I would probably have Peter—the impetuous, get-up-and-do-it sort of guy—and his brother, the sensitive and thoughtful one, sitting there and debating what their roles in the family business were.
They were young men beginning to take their place in the world and in their industry, their business: fishing.
So I would probably start there, and Peter would be talking about how they need to organize, how they need to get the fishermen together and form some sort of association to assure a steady catch—a renewable resource. He would be talking about pricing and control.
Then Andrew, of course, would be saying, “Well, that is all good, Peter, but we need to make sure we keep this feeding program going. We need to make sure that we care for the widows and the children.” They would be discussing these sorts of things, and we would begin to see the character of the men involved.
We would find men with good minds. Unlearned, probably; I doubt they had a great deal of schooling. But they had good minds and were able to reason, think, and discern.
So they are sitting there having a discussion, and here comes this man Jesus, Who Himself is a fairly young man. He is not the wise and old king they are looking to. He comes along and says, “Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Now, there are a lot of folks in this world who are just foolish. Anyone who would say to them, “Oh, come on, jump in this venture with me. I will make you famous. I will teach you how to sing. That book you have been thinking about writing, we will get it published. Just come after me”—many will follow with no discernment.
Peter and Andrew were men of a ready and willing mind, but also of discerning heart. The One Who spoke to them spoke in a way other men do not speak. There was something about Him that captures your heart.
I do not know about you, but I remember when I was a stranger and a pilgrim. I remember when I was wandering through a land of woe. Then one day, the Good Shepherd found me.
What a wonderful voice that was to hear. What a marvelous day that was—to be called unto the Lord Jesus. I was so well aware that I was unworthy, but so certain, in a flash, in an instant, that I was called and chosen.
Is that your experience too? Somewhere, somehow, while you were about your daily life, the Lord Jesus spoke. This is why I love the story of Peter: because he just fits us. It is easy for us to learn from his life experience.
So anyway, he starts out in a wonderful way, with this magnificent calling and a ready heart. He and his brother get up and leave their nets. There was no hesitation in their response. There was no working out a plan just in case.
There was none of this: “Well now, you guys hold the fort down, but do not think it is yours, because we do not know yet. We may be back.” They picked up and went. They followed after the Lord Jesus.
What a wonderful experience they had. They started following this One Whom they did not know, to begin with, was a great Teacher, a great Revealer of the Godhead. So they got taught. They got to go to school early on and learn from the best.
Here is just a sample of what Peter heard, understood, and learned in Matthew 5:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.
Now, that is some pretty good teaching. That is a lot of the heart of the Father. This is how Peter started his life off, and it bore good fruit.
It is amazing how the words from our Savior bear good fruit. They do not go wasted in our lives, even though we may be slightly inattentive—or deaf as a doorknob—to them at times. Somehow, when we continue to be in the Word of God and continue to receive the Word of God, it bears good fruit.
It bore good fruit in Peter. As a matter of fact, it made him a superstar. Barry Bonds had nothing on Peter, because Peter hit the home run of all home runs—none that could match it.
The Lord Jesus is with the disciples, and they are discussing all the things men have to say about Christ. The Lord says, “But who say ye that I am?” In Matthew 16, we find this:
He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father Who is in heaven.
Now, folks, I think in my own documentary I would probably have the other disciples back there, and someone would say, “Show-off.” But others would say, “Yeah, I knew that. Why did I not say that? I knew that. I had already felt that in my heart about the Lord, but I did not say it.”
Peter was bold. He did not hold back. He declared the truth of all truth concerning our Lord Jesus. It was the home run of all times. If you are looking to be put on a stat sheet and put in the record book, he did it. He nailed who the Lord Jesus is.
A young fisherman who had been walking around with this Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for a little while—and his heart had perceived that.
Do you remember when it began to be real to you in your everyday life that this Jesus was more than a Bible story? He was more than a religious figurehead. He was the living Son of God, Whom you personally know, Whom you have a relationship with.
Peter hit the big home run. Now, not unlike many sportsmen, many musical talents, many accomplished individuals, when you hit the big hit, you get the big head.
You begin to confuse the natural and the supernatural. You begin to think that maybe there is something about me, that I am the one who saw that and said that. Maybe there is something special about me.
Andrew is okay. I mean, you know, he is a sweet guy. But hey, I hit the big ball. Not unusual for us, is it? You make that first big sale, you close it, and you start to strut around the office a little bit. Then you find out the customer’s check bounced.
In that same chapter, right after he hits the home run, Jesus tells the disciples that they should tell no man about this. Then He begins to show unto His disciples how He must go unto Jerusalem, suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying:
Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall never be unto Thee.
Jesus turned and said to Peter:
Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto Me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.
If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it.
You ever had the big head? You ever let pride enter into your house, into your life? You ever thought that maybe, just maybe, you were special?
Peter was as normal as any man you have ever met. He was not awful. He had followed where others did not go. He had a passion others did not have. He had a readiness to serve that others shied away from.
Peter was a good choice. The Lord knew that. But Peter was a man.
Dear friends, you are good choices. We are all good choices for the Lord Jesus, because He knew us before we were born and had already chosen us. He chose what we will be. He knows our end. He knows how we will get there. He chose us to be His.
Peter was a good choice, but he was a man. And he really blew it in this one.
Can you imagine? You husbands, you have just fixed that leaky toilet that your wife hates to hear the sound of, but you dreaded touching and working on because you are not a plumber and you do not know how to fix it. You just fixed it, and it is working perfectly.
Your wife has made you a cake, thanked you, and bragged on you at the meeting. You start feeling like, “Hey, I can handle this.” So you decide to tackle that whole bathroom remodel.
Pride. “I can do it. I did this. I can do it all.”
Then come small-group meeting at your house. One of the sisters turns to your wife and says, “How is that remodel going? That work out okay?” She says, “No. Jimmy did not do such a good job. Matter of fact, we are having to dip into the savings account to bring in some professionals to fix what he fixed.”
Can you imagine the humiliation? Think about how Peter felt. That was not his wife criticizing him over a bathroom remodel. It was the Lord and Savior, Christ, the living Son of God, saying to His ardent follower, “Get thee behind Me, Satan. You are an offense to Me.”
Maybe some of you have done well and not had that experience with the Lord Jesus. But I suspect most of us have, at some point in our life, wanted to put our head under the pillow, whisper our prayers as quickly as we can, and hope that the Lord does not turn the lights on and make us face Him face to face.
Most of us have probably had those moments when we know we have just completely offended the One Who redeemed us. You know the hurt you feel and the shame you feel in such a situation. So Peter really blew it.
Not only did he blow it there, but not long after that they are having this evening meal that we have on Sunday mornings. The Lord is with His disciples. They have had a meal, and the Lord is teaching them.
Jesus says:
All ye shall be offended because of Me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad.
Howbeit, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.
Peter says to Him:
Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
Jesus says to him:
Verily I say unto thee, that thou to-day, even this night, before the cock crow twice, shalt deny Me thrice.
Peter is still stinging, I think, from the hurt of the rebuke. It has been a while. He has gone on with the Lord. They have had some good experiences. But I think probably deep down inside, he is still carrying some guilt with him.
So the Lord tells him this after he declares, “I am going to be the most faithful of all for You, Lord.” He wanted the Lord to believe that. He wanted to believe that. He wanted to be able to lift up his head and walk out of that room knowing he would not deny his Lord.
Of course, they go out into the garden. The Lord has His time in prayer, and then here come the high priest and their servants. The servants step forward to put their hands on the Lord and arrest Him, and Peter draws his sword and chops the servant’s ear off, we are told.
How many times have you tried to overcome something you have said or done in a way that just will not overcome it? That was what Peter was up to. He was trying now to be more faithful, more ardent, more dependable. He was trying to take responsibility for the Lord Jesus.
He was doing all this with good intentions. Peter was not a shady character. He was a good man who had answered from a good heart to the call the Lord Jesus gave him. But he made a big mistake, and then he compounded it by trying to overcome it his own way, in his own thoughts, and with his own actions.
Sounds sort of like works, does it not? You ever get yourself trapped in trying to do good work because you feel guilty? Sounds like he was trapped in trying to do good work.
So he cuts off the servant’s ear, and of course the Lord Jesus will have none of that. He tells him to put away his sword.
Then later, the Lord Jesus has been taken before the priest and is being accused and tried. Peter is out in the outskirts, staying close enough to try to see and hear, but not wanting to be involved too much.
Someone comes up to him and says, “Hey, did I not see you with that Jesus? Were you not the one who drew his sword to defend Him? Do I not know that you know Him?” Sure enough, Peter has three experiences that night where he denies the Lord Jesus.
Can you imagine, when morning came, the hole he was digging to hide in? Sunday morning meeting? No way. The Lord’s table? No. Just talking to his brother on the phone, a brother in Christ, to confess and be encouraged? No.
What is our natural reaction to utter failure? It is to hide and to go after a life that does not include that which I failed at.
How many saints have you known—perhaps even in your own life you have experienced this—that you are hurt so deeply by the consequences of your own thoughts and actions that you just want to disappear? Those people that you loved so dearly, and that you know loved you, you just cannot face them.
Unfortunately, for many believers, that leads to a life that physically and spiritually destroys them. How many of the saints, simply because of a failure before the Lord Jesus and His people, have turned to a life of utter destruction?
Maybe this is not such a good guy to learn from. But let us go back now and look at the same instances, and some of what perhaps Peter learned from them.
Let us read from 2 Peter 1. Actually, I think that is 2 Peter, but I have not marked it, so what can I say?
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
Seeing that His divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue;
Whereby He hath granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Peter answered a call with a willing heart. He went through some very good times, but he also went through some very difficult times.
When he sits down and begins to address the church and begins to write this—or dictate it to Mark, however it worked, however it happened—that calling has a high place in his life. He wants to be sure that the brothers and sisters see themselves in light of that calling also.
He wants them to know that regardless of who they are, the One Who called them has given them all things that pertain unto life and godliness.
Now, if you were a younger person, a younger believer, and you had recently failed and were bearing the guilt because you had not yet repented and been restored, to hear these words must have been pure heaven.
To know that even though you have nothing of life and godliness in you, the One Who called you has given it to you. He has provided it for you.
Sometimes we get a little frustrated with these folks who teach higher things. Yeah, we hear that it is in Christ, and we think, “Yeah, but I am here.” We need to understand: it is in Christ.
We need to be raised up a level or two sometimes in our spiritual walk, understanding, and appreciation, and accept the fact that everything that pertains to life and godliness is yours in Christ Jesus.
You do not have to be good enough. You do not have to be smart enough. You do not have to be quick enough. All you have to do is be in Christ to have these things.
Peter learned that the hard way, but he sure wants to help the saints get it a little easier. So he is writing these letters to them:
Whereby He hath granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature.
I cannot help but do the flashback scene at this point in the documentary. Peter has just written or dictated that little passage, and you see, in the back of his mind, he goes back. He goes back to his pride. He goes back to his failure. He goes back to his denial.
He says, “Thank You so much for having taught me the difference between my nature and Your divine nature, and having provided that divine nature for me in Your own self.”
That is the scene I see for Peter, probably because I have been in that scene, and you probably have too, where it dawns on you in a moment, “Thank goodness, I do not have to be good enough. I just need to be in Christ.”
He will help me through all of this and help me to be a testimony in the midst of this.
His calling had a good impact on him. His failure had a good impact. As far as his pride, let us go ahead and talk about the restoration of Peter before we go to 1 Peter 5.
In John 21:15, after the resurrection, we read:
So when they had broken their fast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me more than these?
He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.
He saith unto him, Feed My lambs.
They go through this conversation three times. Peter gives the same answer. Jesus gives the same instruction.
Now, this is Peter, who has denied Christ three times, a few days later sitting in the presence of Christ. You know he is looking at the floor, not at the Lord, and the Lord chooses to speak to it.
“Simon Peter, do you love Me?”
Probably Peter is thinking, “He knows I do, but He knows I did not act like it.” So he takes the flying leap of faith and says, “Yes, Lord, You know I love You.”
He takes that hopeful moment, that little spark in him that says, “It is going to be all right. Trust Him. Trust Him, Simon.” “Yes, You know I love You, Lord.”
“Feed My sheep.”
It is interesting. The Lord does not say, “You know, I remember not so long ago when you would not even admit to knowing Me. But I believe you love Me, so I forgive you.”
There was no condemnation toward Peter. There was no, “Yeah, you are not so hot, but I love you anyway.” The Lord Jesus simply says, “Feed My sheep.”
You are fully restored—in an instant, in a moment, without question, without little things that you must do to prove your repentance. Just right then, right there, at that moment: “Feed My sheep.”
You are fully restored. “I trust you to do that which I have been doing.” What a glorious restoration.
And so over in 1 Peter 5, verse 2:
Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according unto God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock.
And when the Chief Shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away.
This is the man who, of a ready mind, followed after One he did not know. He is encouraging people: “I did it. It worked. It was good. It is worthwhile. The One that I followed is worthy to be followed. Be of a ready mind.”
Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time;
Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He careth for you.
Peter understood what it was to be forgiven and to be restored. He understood how failure could be put away by the Lord Jesus, by the love of Christ. He understood that you can go forward from your difficult situations, which you may not have handled well, and walk by faith in Christ Jesus.
When we get into those circumstances and situations—and just as importantly, when our brothers and sisters, our family members, our coworkers find themselves in such circumstances—we have a truth in us that can bear fruit for them.
I was interested in a comment about the gospel meeting tonight. Is that preaching the gospel or learning how to share the gospel? Training. Good. Good.
Because you have a truth in you that is life to the lost, health to the weak, and grace to the suffering.
Peter knew this, so he wrote these letters to give instruction and encouragement to a group of people who were being persecuted, to a group of people who were being misled. There were teachers saying, “Oh, well, yeah, you guys talk about this is the day of the Lord and the Lord Jesus is returning soon. Where is He? How come He is not here?”
There were teachers teaching poorly, teaching things that were not true. So Peter writes these letters to say, “Look, guys, the One Who has called you is going to keep you. His promise to you is not false.”
He will come for you. He will prepare a place for you. You can trust that, have faith in that, and move forward in that.
You know these things. You cannot have sat in this room very long and not come to know these truths. It is not like I think I am going to teach you something new today.
But I want to be an exhorter today. I want to encourage you that the letter that Peter wrote is probably already written in your heart. But if it is not, let it be.
So that you can touch the one who has failed—certainly so that you have that truth when you fail—but also that you can touch the one that has failed. You can encourage the brother or sister who is struggling. You can go to the one who is dealing with shame and guilt.
Simply because they do not understand, they can let go of it. The Lord will gladly say to them, “Feed My sheep. Take your place in My kingdom. Be who I made you to be among the saints.”
You can help them throw off that foolish guilt and shame that we hold on to just because we think somehow we are supposed to do something to make it right with God. You can let Jesus make it right.
You have that in you to give. You do not have it in you to hoard. The life that we have been given, we have been given to give.
Everything that you have learned of Christ Jesus is living water to someone, if you will just pour it.
Everything—the smallest little experience you have to the greatest truth you have found—is living water for you and for those whose lives you touch. Pour it out.
Do not let it sit there and get stagnant and become a breeding place for mosquitoes. Pour it out upon the saint.
One last thing I want to say, and this comes from this, but it also comes from what is, I suppose, the deepest burden on my heart nowadays.
They were suffering, the saints to whom Peter wrote, at the hands of deceiving teachers.
Brothers and sisters, we live in a world today where good men, faithful men, talented men and women, find success in serving the Lord and let it go to their head.
But they do not come to repentance. Instead, they create new theology based on their experience. It all has a ring of truth to it. It all sounds pretty good.
Those of us who are of an eager heart and a ready mind, and who do not walk in fellowship with the Lord, in a strong relationship with His Word, in a strong relationship with our brothers and sisters, can easily be swayed.
So many younger brothers and sisters are drawn away by the flash and the beat and the uplifting words of men who probably do love the Lord, but they love themselves far too much.
They may know the Lord, but they know themselves far better. They preach from the same Bible that you would preach from, and much of what they say is true in that Word.
But then they bend it a little bit to make their experience special. Or they use it a little bit to make them more special in your eyes.
Or they decide that we are so wonderfully blessed that we can build the true testimony, the real church, and we can reach the whole lost city. To do that, they shape that which they call the house of God to be pleasant to the world.
Some things we need to understand: the Lord Jesus said, “Do not be shocked that the world hates you. It hates Me.”
Let me rephrase that in a more palatable way for us religious folk. Do not be surprised that most of the folks you invite to your meeting say, “Boy, that was boring. I would rather have the big band.”
Do not be shocked about that. Human nature is what it is. That does not mean they are terrible folk. That does not mean they are all doomed to hell and can never be saved. That does not mean they are saved, but forever to be pushed off into a corner and thought of as lesser believers.
It just means they have let themselves be swayed away, and they need to come back to the life and the truth and the light that is in Christ Jesus.
If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself.
That is not a palatable message to people who want to be religious—people who want to do something to make themselves feel right with God and accepted by God. That is not the way they want to do it.
Are you shocked? Think about your own life. It is not the way you wanted to do it either. If you have been a believer for fifty years, or eighty years, or however many years, that was not the intent you had when you started out.
“I want to disappear. I want to decrease. I want to suffer. I want to fill up His suffering.” You wanted to get rid of your sin and go to heaven.
But that is the Lord’s way: we must deny ourselves.
So many do not want to preach that message. They want to have a kind, sweet message to the lost so that they will not be offended and they will come to Jesus.
The fact and truth of the matter is, when the Holy Spirit brings conviction in a man’s life, he must face it and acknowledge that it is true: “I am unworthy.”
If we try to help him escape that acknowledgment, we do him no good.
Then, once we gather together, if we gather to please our own aesthetic sensibilities, our own musical preferences, our own teaching style and preaching style, then we will have that, and anybody else as foolish as we are who likes that will join with us.
But if we will be the people of God, we must be simple and honest with the Lord and with one another. We must be willing not to be respected in the eyes of the world.
I think Peter’s summation there at the end of 2 Peter 3 could be worded this way: be aware of those who would deceive, but do not be consumed by that awareness.
What is it that he said at the very end?
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and for ever. Amen.
We need to be aware of the pitfalls. We need to be aware that there are some well-meaning, misguided folks, and there are some plain evil folk. But we do not need to be consumed.
We do not need to become those who are persecuted. We do not need to have that idea that we have to always be looking out, looking over our shoulder, and wondering who is going to try to attack us next.
You are going to be attacked. It may be by other brothers and sisters, or it may be by vile and evil men. But as long as you are standing in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, this world is going to come after you some way or another.
Be aware of it, but do not be consumed by it. Do not try to defend yourself and build a theology and a meeting style that wards off all the evil.
Grow in grace.
Be aware of the Lord Jesus, not yourself and these evil or misguided men. Grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.
Peter’s life is such a good roadmap for us. If we go astray, it is a great way to figure out how to get back. When we are doing well, it is a great way to figure out how to do even better.
Peter was a man of passion, a man with a ready mind and heart, a man who discerned and knew the Lord Jesus.
Are we such people? Could it be the Lord would be so gracious to us that we could have that as a description of our own life? What a wonderful life that would be, and what an impact it would have on those around us.
Father, we thank You that You have provided everything we need in our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us, we ask, to walk honestly before You.
Help us to trust that Your grace, Your mercy, Your forgiveness, and Your Spirit will always be present to keep us in the Lord Jesus.
We bless You today for Your love and mercy, You Who are King of kings and Lord of lords. Glory and honor be to You forevermore. Amen.