Peter's Journey: From Failure to Restoration in Christ
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
Peter's greatest failure did not come when he was a vulnerable new believer, his greatest failure came when he was a mature follower of Jesus. You would think that the longer you are a Believer the stronger you will become that is not how it was with Peter Peter's greatest failure came after he had been following the Lord Jesus Christ for a long time after years of serving the lord after years of following the Lord Jesus Christ you know what it is possible to love him less intensely to follow him less closely and to obey him less completely than you did before mature Believers can get worse when we should be getting better. [00:03:11]
Authentic discipleship has its failures as well as its successes, but the story of Peter is full of Hope because it shows what Jesus Christ can do through flawed disciples like us. Now when we take up the story here in John in Chapter 13 Peter has been following Jesus for three years and during that time he clearly has grown and he has made significant progress but here is something that is very striking Brothers for all of us here today. [00:02:39]
Spiritual pride is evidence when you feel that you are stronger than other believers, when you hear the words of Jesus for others but not for yourself, when you no longer feel that you really need to pray, and you begin to feel that the entire work of Jesus depends on you. That's what led to the fall disastrousful of a Christian leader. [00:16:44]
The fear of the Lord is so to love him that his frown would be your greatest red, and his smile your greatest Delight, and you know, even in this moment that was true of Peter, he feared the Lord, he really did love Jesus. Prevention is better than cure, flee temptation, flee it, repent before the Wayward becomes willful, and brothers let us live in the fear of the Lord loving him so that his frown would be our greatest thread, and his smile our greatest Delight. [00:27:04]
Repent before the wayward becomes willful. I learned this from Scottish Pastor Aleister will know well by the name of James Philip in one of his writings he makes the point that every sin involves some combination of the Wayward and the willful and these are mixed together in every sin in different degrees, and the more willful a sin becomes the darker and more dangerous it is. [00:22:02]
Peter was restored by a repeated encounters with the Risen Lord, draw near to God and He will draw near to you, and isn't it beautiful brothers that it is the Lord himself who restores. David said this in Psalm 23 he restores my soul, and Peter expresses it so clearly in his own letter first Peter in chapter five where he says after you have suffered a little while the God of all Grace who has called you to his eternal glory will himself restore you. [00:34:48]
Jesus did not pray that Peter would be saved from the sifting actually he needed that because of his spiritual Pride, but Jesus had prayed that Peter's Faith would not fail and Peter's repentance of course was the answer to Jesus prayer and notice that Jesus says when you have turned again not if when because Peter is Christ's own and he never loses one of his own. [00:31:07]
Peter's problem lay in the weakness of his flesh he overestimated the power of a willing spirit and he underestimated the power of his own reluctant flesh, and because he underestimated the power of his own reluctant flesh this mature believer this fully committed disciple who was ready to do anything for the Lord fell into spiritual disaster. [00:06:53]
The more you indulge in any sin the more willful it becomes and the more willful a sin becomes the harder it is to repent so here's what we learn you repent before the wayward becomes willful. [00:24:02]
Peter says I will lay down my life for you, and notice that John records verse 38 Jesus answered will you lay down your life for me, truly truly I say to you the rooster will not Crow till you have denied me three times you read that and you say how in the world then could such a thing happen, what led to that spiritual disaster. [00:05:26]
Spiritual Pride let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Second sign of spiritual Pride you hear the words of Jesus for others but not for yourself again Matthew chapter 26 and verse 31 Jesus says you will all fall away because of me this night couldn't be clearer, here is a direct Prophecy from the lips of Jesus you will all fall away from me this night. [00:10:47]
Peter was restored only by believing in the promise he was restored by repeated encounters with the Risen Lord, we're not given any details of the private meeting between Peter and the Risen Lord that is referred to by the two on the road to Emmaus and refer to also by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians and chapter 15 but we are told much more about the appearance of Jesus to the disciples on the first day of the week and then eight days later when Thomas was with them. [00:32:39]
Ask a question about this sermon
Authentic discipleship has its failures as well as its successes, but the story of Peter is full of Hope because it shows what Jesus Christ can do through flawed disciples like us. Now when we take up the story here in John in Chapter 13 Peter has been following Jesus for three years and during that time he clearly has grown and he has made significant progress but here is something that is very striking Brothers for all of us here today. [00:02:39]
Spiritual pride is evidence when you feel that you are stronger than other believers, when you hear the words of Jesus for others but not for yourself, when you no longer feel that you really need to pray, and you begin to feel that the entire work of Jesus depends on you. That's what led to the fall disastrousful of a Christian leader. [00:16:44]
The fear of the Lord is so to love him that his frown would be your greatest red, and his smile your greatest Delight, and you know, even in this moment that was true of Peter, he feared the Lord, he really did love Jesus. Prevention is better than cure, flee temptation, flee it, repent before the Wayward becomes willful, and brothers let us live in the fear of the Lord loving him so that his frown would be our greatest thread, and his smile our greatest Delight. [00:27:04]
Repent before the wayward becomes willful. I learned this from Scottish Pastor Aleister will know well by the name of James Philip in one of his writings he makes the point that every sin involves some combination of the Wayward and the willful and these are mixed together in every sin in different degrees, and the more willful a sin becomes the darker and more dangerous it is. [00:22:02]
Peter was restored by a repeated encounters with the Risen Lord, draw near to God and He will draw near to you, and isn't it beautiful brothers that it is the Lord himself who restores. David said this in Psalm 23 he restores my soul, and Peter expresses it so clearly in his own letter first Peter in chapter five where he says after you have suffered a little while the God of all Grace who has called you to his eternal glory will himself restore you. [00:34:48]
Jesus did not pray that Peter would be saved from the sifting actually he needed that because of his spiritual Pride, but Jesus had prayed that Peter's Faith would not fail and Peter's repentance of course was the answer to Jesus prayer and notice that Jesus says when you have turned again not if when because Peter is Christ's own and he never loses one of his own. [00:31:07]
Peter's problem lay in the weakness of his flesh he overestimated the power of a willing spirit and he underestimated the power of his own reluctant flesh, and because he underestimated the power of his own reluctant flesh this mature believer this fully committed disciple who was ready to do anything for the Lord fell into spiritual disaster. [00:06:53]
The more you indulge in any sin the more willful it becomes and the more willful a sin becomes the harder it is to repent so here's what we learn you repent before the wayward becomes willful. [00:24:02]
Peter says I will lay down my life for you, and notice that John records verse 38 Jesus answered will you lay down your life for me, truly truly I say to you the rooster will not Crow till you have denied me three times you read that and you say how in the world then could such a thing happen, what led to that spiritual disaster. [00:05:26]
Spiritual Pride let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Second sign of spiritual Pride you hear the words of Jesus for others but not for yourself again Matthew chapter 26 and verse 31 Jesus says you will all fall away because of me this night couldn't be clearer, here is a direct Prophecy from the lips of Jesus you will all fall away from me this night. [00:10:47]
Peter was restored only by believing in the promise he was restored by repeated encounters with the Risen Lord, we're not given any details of the private meeting between Peter and the Risen Lord that is referred to by the two on the road to Emmaus and refer to also by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians and chapter 15 but we are told much more about the appearance of Jesus to the disciples on the first day of the week and then eight days later when Thomas was with them. [00:32:39]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from May 18, 2023. Do you have any questions about it?