Finding Strength in Failure: God's Sovereignty and Grace

In times of failure, we need to see the sovereignty of God. People say they believe that God is Sovereign, but then we contradict that in so many different ways. The Lord is Sovereign. Our old wicked hearts, according to Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse number 9, it tells us there that the heart is deceitful above all things, and who can know it? Your heart, my heart, all of us in the flesh deceives us. [00:09:19]

When people fail, they generally don't fall at their weakest point; they usually fall at their strongest point. Think about that. Peter fell at his strongest point. What was his strongest point? We get the picture of Peter in the scriptures. He's a man of courage. He's a man of strength. He's an alpha male. He's a leader. Everybody looks to him. [00:11:31]

Peter's was courage. Remember Abraham? What do we know about Abraham? What's the key word with Abraham? Faith. He's the father of faith, the father of the faithful. He's justified by faith. He was the dean in the school of faith, but if you study his life, when he came to a particular situation, he lied about his wife Sarah in order to save his own life. [00:14:14]

Jesus is saying to Peter in verse number 31 that Satan wants to have you so he can sift you like wheat, and God gives permission like he does here to tempt Peter. Satan tempts Peter, tests him, sifts him. But don't you like what it says there in verse number 32? But I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. [00:23:24]

In times of failure, we need to see the sympathy of Jesus. What you're going through right now or the condition of your journey, the position, the condition, the situation you might be in right now might not be like this with Peter, but you need to see that Jesus sympathizes with you. Do you know something? You're only flesh. [00:28:06]

Jesus looked at him, and Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. When Jesus looked at him, just use your sanctified imagination. What kind of look was on Jesus' face? Was it a look of "I've had it with you, Peter"? [00:30:29]

Jesus, the great high priest, is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. He's a sympathetic Savior, and I take such comfort in knowing that. And Peter saw it firsthand here on this Earth, that sympathetic, loving Savior. [00:32:21]

In times of failure, we need to see our security in Jesus. We need to see that we are secure in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, when it says that Satan wanted to sift him as wheat, the picture is that you have wheat, and of course, you've got all kinds of fillers. You've got the chaff. We don't want the chaff. [00:33:09]

Jesus allowed it, but we have security. We are told, look there in John chapter 17, that high priestly prayer that the first scripture this morning came from, that John chapter 17, the high priestly prayer. This will bless your heart. John chapter 17, we saw where Jesus said, but I have prayed for you, Peter. [00:38:40]

Real repentance is the vomiting of the soul. You want to get that out of you. You feel so nauseated, and real repentance is when you get rid of whatever was making you sick. He goes on to say, have you ever eaten anything that made you nauseous and sick, something that was just hideous, terrible, something that causes you to retch? [00:43:17]

He promises there in the book of Hebrews 7:25 that he saves to the uttermost. That's not talking about saving sinners. It's talking there about that he saves his people to the very end, to the uttermost. He's able to keep you to the end. He's able to save you all the way. He'll never let you go. He'll never lose you. [00:44:20]

Jesus is praying for me. If I told you behind that door right there, Jesus was in there, and he was praying for you, that would probably make an impression upon you. You mean, really, Jesus is in there praying for me? Maybe over here behind this door, the pastor is praying for me. Now, which would you have, door number one or door number two? [00:45:10]