1249. The Fall And Restoration Of Peter, Part 1

Welcome to the daily form from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Senior's intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything, so he established daily chapel services today. That tradition continues with fervent biblical preaching from the University travel platform. Today's sermon is the first part of an evangelistic message by Dr. Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University. The title of his message is the fall and restoration of Peter when you take your Bibles and turn with a place and I to the 22nd chapter of the gospel of Luke in Luke's gospel chapter 22 and I were going to begin reading in verse 54 were going to rain down to verse 62 and in most of the evening our focal point will be primarily on what is taking place. In verses 61 and 62. We have the story here of Jesus being arrested in the garden of Gethsemane taken to the home of the high priest Caiaphas was a large mansion there was a courtyard outside. There were guards and servants that were there. They kept the fire going at night to stay warm and it is here that we see the events that lead to the fall of the apostle Peter, but it is also here that we see the steps that God takes in restoring this one falls away from him and God's divine restoration deny my messages entitled the fall and the restoration of Peter.

Let's hear God's word tonight verse 54 then took a him and led him and brought him into the hat and to the high priest house and Peter followed a far off when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down together. Peter sat down among them, but a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire and earnestly looked upon him and said this man was also with him and he denied him saying woman I know him not.

And after a little while another Solomon said, thou art also of them and Peter said, man.

I am not about the space of one hour after another confidently affirm saying of the truth. This fellow also was with them free as a Galilean. And Peter said, man.

I know not what thou sayest, and immediately while he yet spake the Kok crew the roast the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked upon Peter and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he is saddened to him before the Kok Pro thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. May God add his blessing to the reading of his word. May God bless tonight the word of God is preached to our hearts its power hits together for prayer. Father I pray tonight that you will do a mighty work in this building a a work of of revealing in a work of restoration, Lord, I pray that for every Peter in this room that is fallen, that tonight you it is a great and good Shepherd restore them by your providence and by your grace and by your power so that we may Lord walk in obedience to you and honor you with our lives.

We pray and ask these things in Jesus name, amen. There's perhaps nobody in the Bible who so clearly fell away from the Lord, and so clearly returned back to the Lord as the apostle Peter peters fall was clear because Jesus had prophesied that he would follow Jesus said he was going to fall in his restoration was also clear proof because Jesus in the same manner prophesied that Peter would come back to the Lord and therefore I believe God wants us all to carefully think about peters fall and Peter's restoration because I began to believe it becomes an example for all of us how the Lord restores us when we fall the stories very interesting. It's one of the 10 events found in all four Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John there only to events found in all four events like Jesus beginning his ministry in Galilee, the feeding of the Fab 5000 Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus were telling his betrayal in his crucifixion pilot pronouncing Jesus's death, the crucifixion, the death of Jesus. The burial of Jesus. The resurrection and the denial of Peter.

Now there are many reasons why the story could be found in all four Gospels but surely one of them a stand is a clear example for us that every one of us are in a president. Real danger of falling away from the Lord is preaching a number of years ago and another stated after the end of the service, the pastor said he cannot take out to lunch tomorrow and I said sure, I'd love to.

I love to go out to eat lunch with somebody else pays for us on our way out to lunch.

The pastor turned me as he was driving his car and he said I want you to know that I disagreed with what you preached on last now.

Honestly and all my ministry.

I really had that happen, and I thought it was kind of interesting.

I said so what is it that I said that you disagreed with you, so will there such a thing as a carnal Christian. He said what I believe is either your saving your spiritual or you're not saved it all but you can't beat carnal and be a Christian is a well as it probably then the issue is not with me. The issues with God because a prince from first Corinthians chapter 2 where Paul said to the church of Corinth that you are carnal. Now I don't say this tonight out of spite. I don't say this to be unkind and to sing the reality. The truth of it is that pastor ended up leaving the ministry and eventually became a transvestite so was a carnal was he lost. I don't know. All I know is this that believers fall away from the Lord. How many of you have fallen away from the Lord. And yet I also want you to know that because of God's commitment to his own people as a good Shepherd is to his own. She, the Lord graciously restores those who are his own, because falling away from from God as a believer is not to be a permanent condition because it is the Lord who, like you took Peter and when he fell. The Lord took the steps to eventually bring them back in restoration. So tonight let's look at peters fall in detail and then let's look at the gracious restoration. The goodness of God the mercy of God in our lives and that he will bring us back to himself. Let's consider peters fall. What exactly did Peter really do. And Jesus tells us when he promises here in verse 61 where he said before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. Peter's sin was essentially a denial of the Lord Jesus Christ openly in public before both the presence of Jesus and before his own enemy now to think about that and I would think I want to think about how terrible that is me this is Peter of all people, Peter was highly favored by Christ. I mean, he was specially chosen. He was one of the chosen 12. He was also one of the inner disciples of the inner circle of Jesus where there is Peter James and John and those three men got to go to three events where the other disciples were excluded were those events. The raising of gyrus's daughter from the dead, that the Transfiguration of Jesus on the on the mount and the prayer of Jesus in the garden to send me all only those three men were able to be with him and this man Peter was obviously in a deep close relationship with Jesus and and Peter was specially blessed of the Lord because it was Peter who made the announcement that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and the son of God and in Jesus said to him that this is revealed to you from God. God is giving you a revelation God's open your eyes and of course Peter was unique in that out of all the disciples, it was Peter who got out of the boat in the midst of the storm and he walked on the Sea of Galilee. So I think you would agree with me tonight that Peter was a highly favored man and for him to deny that he even knows Jesus. What kind of terrible sin. Is this I want to remind you tonight. The higher your privilege, the greater your responsibility and the more horrible is the sin if we walk away from the Lord. So Peter was highly favored but let me also say that this was truly a terrible sin because Peter was highly worn by Jesus in the upper room. Jesus said to the 11 you will all fall away because of me this night, and what DG what did Peter do. He replied he replied with a protest. He said no all fall away because of you I will never follow a battle. He never heard anybody ever say this, I would never when I've heard that throughout my life I've heard it many times. I want to say shut up Peter because you are making a mistake to think that you would never and what was Jesus's written response to Peter.

He said Peter you're not going to deny me one time you're going to deny me three times. How often does the Bible warn us against self-confidence, pride.

Pride goes before destruction. Wherefore, let him to think of the standard think he lest he fall. God resisted the proud and Peter was not only warned in the upper room, but Peter was actually warned in the garden of Gethsemane three times for as Jesus prayed in the garden in agony. What did the disciples do at that time they fell asleep.

I took a nap. Jesus came back to them three times and he said watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation and then he made the statement. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

He warned me Peter was warned of the exposure to danger. He was, he was not ignorant and the trap of 10 patient was set before him but sadly he ran into it and what makes his denial so deplorable is it happened so fast.

You see, it wasn't years later after the warning that Peter denied the Lord. It wasn't weeks later and was in days later it was just a few hours later in just a short period of time.

He denied the Lord so quickly, so truly what Peter did was a terrible sin. So let's take that denial of the Lord and let's expand it. What is it that made it what is it that made it such a terrible sin and what is it, when often times we commit the same sin. How do we do that, what is it mean to deny Jesus. Well it means to say that you, as he said you don't know the person or don't know anything about the person, or you don't have a relationship with the person. So if you deny the Lord is I don't know him.

I don't know anything about it. I have no relationship with him and we Peter did that. Obviously, the fact is, he did knowing he didn't have a relationship with, and the denial of Jesus is the ultimate sin of someone who is called an apostate never heard that word apostate. What is an apostate is a person who professes to believe in Jesus. At one time but they come out and they say they no longer believe in Jesus and they walk away from him forever. I don't know if you have heard of a book that was written back in the 90s. It was written by a pastor of a mega church's name is Joshua Harris the name of the book was. I kissed dating goodbye. He sold 1.2 million copies. He was very well known for his ministry and for his writing.

Well later own. He came out and he actually repudiated the book he ended up divorcing his wife and he made a public announcement about it. Then he wrote something very significant. He said the information that was left out of our announcement is that I've undergone a massive shift regarding my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is deconstruction the biblical phrase is falling away.

He knows his Bible by all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian. He said I am not a Christian. What is an apostate is someone who says they believe and later they say they no longer believe and they walk away from the Lord forever. I would hate to say this, I'm not the Lord I'm not a prophet but there's no doubt apostates sitting in this building tonight that at some point in your life you're going to walk away from the Lord and you're going to deny the faith and it is right for me to say that tonight because the New Testament warns about that.

It warns about people who come to know the truth of God and acknowledge the truth of God and then they turn and they walk away from it forever. Of course the argument is always been where they saved and they lost their salvation or were they never really saved in the truth of the matter is the end result is the same because to deny the Lord is to walk away from the Lord. And this is what Peter did, but Peter was not a complete apostate, and how do we know that because he came back to the Lord and essentially what I want you to understand that when we deny the Lord any denial of Jesus is a form of apostasy. It doesn't mean that you will become an apostate because those that are his. He brings them back. He knows his sheep and he brings it back to himself but to deny the Lord is a form of apostasy.

I want you to notice denied these three denials that Peter made because they were definitely different.

They were they were what we called degrees of denial notice. Peter's first denial.

Jesus is arrested in the garden of Gethsemane is brought to the palace of the high priest and Peter follows him. He is allowed to enter into the courtyard of the palace and the one that let cement through the gate was a servant girl as Peter is sitting around the fire with the servants of the officers outside the young lady comes out to it, and she looks at his face and she says you were with Jesus of Galilee and what did Peter say I want to listen to what he said because you can go back and read it in all four Gospels and you put it all together. Essentially here's what he said.

He said I don't know what I don't understand what are you talking about. His response was worded in such a way as to avoid giving a direct answer we say he evaded the question or the statement that question did Peter understand.

Did he know what she was talking about. Did he know what she meant. Of course he knew and Peter thought that he could escape from being identified with Jesus. That's the issue you are with him and he was to identify with Jesus when he founded this. The first form of denying Jesus is always trying to avoid being identified with Jesus when it calls there is no question that identity today is a huge deal. What is your identity. Paul said, here's my identity. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the like that. I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself with. He said when everywhere I go I want people to not think of Paul I want people to think of Christ, he identified himself as a believer that you question an idea you publicly identify yourself as a Jesus follower. Do you acknowledge that you know him, or do you try to hide the fact that your Christian if it may cost you and what is your true identity. Your true identity as a believer is that Christ is in you the hope of glory to identify with Jesus as a believer is simply to acknowledge what is true about you if you been a chip if you been born again. Then you have a new life. You have a new nature. You are a new man in Christ. You are simply saying to people what you are God wants us to publicly acknowledge who we are in Christ. Everywhere we go. You join the Army identify yourself as a Christian. If you get a job working in an accounting firm did you find yourself as a Christian wherever you go. You are to be what you are. That's what a Christian is to do what happens when a person backsides. Well, they begin to live out what they were not what they are because what you were before you were saved. Is this you had an old life and old nature. You are the old man in sin. Backsliding is essentially going back to what you were before Christ. So how do I recover from backsliding. It always starts with me coming out and identify myself as a Christian and say I want to be what I am. I want to live out in reality what I am in my heart that's Christian living living out and experience what God is done in your life and the first step. The backsliding is always the fear of identifying with Jesus the notice. A second denial. The second denial comes when Peter becomes uncomfortable around the fire so we got gets up from the fire and he goes out to the porch and then he's there for little bit and then he comes back and this time he stands in the crowd around the fire but is not in the very front of the fire sorted behind in the back and there's another servant girl who speaks to Peter and says I know that he's one of them. I'm sure that he is and that she and another girl both start saying you were with him. We are sure you were with them and Matthew tells us that Peter denies Jesus again but this time it's very different than the first time the first time was sort of no evasion of the truth in this clay.

In this case it was much more direct because he did it with an oath he said it this way. I swear I do not know the man I swear I do not know this man, Jesus Christ. Think about how amazing is this. Here's a man that declared Jesus as the son of God, and now he swears he doesn't even know who Jesus is, what is it mean to swear what is it mean to make a vowel.

It's an open confession. Let me put it in modern terminology. It's like saying he or she came out your that statement it means that you clearly have crossed a line whereas the first denial, Peter may have sad his conscience. Now click Peter clearly violates his conscience. He turns away decisively from what he knows is true. Backsliding will always lead you to turn away from what you know is true you walk away from his clear commands. You violate your conscience by your choices in your actions and and thus doing you are denying the Lord in your life. The Lord who bought you what know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, what you have. Would you have of God, for you are not your own.

You are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are Christ, so let me just stop here and ask you have you been violating clear commands that you know our rights and wrongs and in your own conscience you are dude. You are going against them that I want to say to you that is a denial of the Lord is a step away from God. It is a form of falling away from the Lord to violate the conscience in a direct net lease to the third denial and this is the final denial we read here in Luke's gospel and I did about an hour past and during that time Peter said nothing, but then he came back to the crowd and this time he started talking and someone spoke up and let me put it in modern English.

They sit dude you are one of them because your accent gives it away. You're not from Jerusalem, man. You we know exactly where you're from you're from Galilee and that's where Jesus is prompt and then all of a sudden the servant of the high priest recognizes Peter as the one who cut off his cousin's ear, for he was there just a few hours before where Peter pulled out of sword and cut all a man's ear. By the way, I think that was an accident. I don't think he was going for the ear thing is going for the head. Even the guy moved his head or peers a really bad shot, and he lacks the dude's ear off and what did Peter do in his response, he did something to prove that he could not have possibly been a believer. He responded in such a way that they would've been confirmed, he can't be a Christ follower because of what he just did and what did Peter do. The Bible tells us his mouth exploded with profanity. If there's such an event such a thing as an F bomb in Hebrew.

He said it, he began to curse, he began to swear a string of the most all expletives came flowing out of his mouth. So much so that no one accused him of being a Christ follower after his rent. He proved to everyone by his actions that he must not be a disciple of Jesus. So how do we deny the Lord number one we just don't want to be identified.

Number two, we clearly violate his laws and number three we began to live in such a manner as you think, how can you possibly be a follower of Jesus by the lifestyle and the way that your living in. Here's the thing that is so sad that all of this happened with in the ear of Jesus and Jesus heard it all and how it must've grieved his heart so question me.

How did Peter get here. One of them made it mean we look at his lively look at his pharmacy is vibrancy on the list. Be honest. How can people be a vibrant Christian and then a year later there's like one of the world happened.

Unfortunately, that's where we'll have to end the sermon preached by Beecher you president Dr. Steve Pettit join us again tomorrow. When will hear the conclusion of the sermon about the fall and restoration of Peter here on The Daily Platform