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| BRANDED COWBOY CHURCH MINISTRIES Preachin Pages |
Title: When We Mess Up
Text: Luke 22:54-62
Text: Luke 22:54-62
A group of pastors were candidly discussing their weakest moments. The first pastor said “My biggest weakness is gambling. I know I shouldn’t
do it. But there are times when this temptation gets the best of me.”
The second pastor said “My biggest weakness is drinking. I know I shouldn’t drink so much. I know God’s not happy when I do it. But there are
times when it gets the best of me.”
The third pastor said “My biggest weakness is women. I know I’m a minister. I know I shouldn’t be looking. But there are times when this
weakness gets the best of me.”
The fourth pastor said, “My biggest weakness is gossip. And right now, I can’t wait to get out of here!”
The truth is that we all make mistakes. We’ve all done things we wish we could take back! Ecclesiastes 7:20 says that there is not a just
(righteous) man on earth that doeth good, and sinneth not."
In today’s Bible lesson, the apostle Peter does something he wishes he could take back. He lets the Lord down in a very public way. I want to talk
about what happens to Peter. And then I want to talk about what to do when WE let the Lord down.
In Luke 22:31, Jesus says “Peter, you’re going to fall away. But I’ve been praying for you. After you come back to Me, I want you to strengthen
your brothers.”
Peter says, “Lord, even if everyone else falls away, I will NEVER fall away! I am ready to go with you to prison! I’m ready to die for you!”
But Jesus says in verse 24, “"I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."
Several hours later, Jesus is taken into custody. Verse 54 says that “they led Jesus away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter
follows at a distance. A servant girl sees him in the courtyard warming himself by the fire. And while Peter is standing by the fire, the servant girl
turns up the heat. She looks at him and says “This man was with Jesus.”
Peter says “Woman, I don’t know him.”
A little later, someone else says “You are one of the disciples, aren’t you?”
Peter says “I am not!”
An hour later, someone else says “He has to be one of the disciples. He’s got a Galilean accent.”
Peter says “As God is my witness, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just then, the rooster crows. as he was speaking, a rooster crows.
The Lord turns and looks straight at Peter. The Greek word for “look” is the same word that is used in John 1:42 to describe the way Jesus
looked at Peter when they first met. It is a look of love and concern.
As soon as they make eye contact, Peter remembers what Jesus said back in verse 34, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three
times.” And he says "No! What have I done?" And he breaks down and cries. Peter the rock has been crushed by the pressure. One scholar says
that Peter acted more like a jellyfish than a rock.
You say, “How could Peter do this? This was a golden opportunity to say "Yes, I was with Jesus. He changed my life. He is the Christ, the Son of
the Living God!" How could Peter be so bold and courageous in the Garden of Gethsemane, and so weak and unprepared for the accusations of a
servant girl?
Maybe it broke his heart to see the Son of God surrender without a fight. Maybe he was afraid that HE would get arrested and never see his family
again.
It’s very tempting to criticize Peter. But haven’t we all been guilty of denying Christ in vital areas of our lives? Haven’t we all kept secret our
identity as believers at moments when it would have been appropriate to come out and say something? Haven’t we all had moments where we
said, "You might be Lord of heaven and earth, but you’re not going to be Lord over THIS part of my life?”
The truth is that every time we give more attention to the things of this life than to the things of God, we are guilty of denying the Lord. Every time
we worry about our problems instead of praying about them, we are denying the Lord. Every time we doubt the ability of God to take care of us,
we are denying the Lord.
The first thing we need to do is to weep over our sin. We need to say “I’m sorry! I wish I would have spent a little less time chatting on my
cellphone. And a little more time chatting with the Lord. I wish I could take back all the times I used God’s name in vain! I wish I could take back all
the times I was mean to my brother!”
The next thing we need to do is to come back to Jesus. That’s what Peter does. In John chapter 20, the disciples head for the empty tomb, and
the first to arrive on the scene is Peter. In chapter 21, Jesus says "Peter, I want you back on my team. But if you truly love me more than anything
in the world, feed my sheep. Take care of my lambs! Get involved with Christian ministry!”
And that’s what Peter does. Just two months later in Acts 2:38, he stands in front of a huge crowd. He says "Repent, and be baptized, every one
of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." And 3000 gave their hearts to
Jesus Christ! Why did God work so powerfully in Peter’s life? Because he turned from his sin and came back to God.
We see examples of this all over the Bible. In 2 Samuel chapter 11, David committed adultery with Bathsheba. And he was responsible for the
death of her husband. But in Psalm 51, he confesses his sin. He says “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to
your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin!”
He had to live with the consequences. But when he prayed that tearful prayer, God forgave him. And God accepted him back with open arms.
Disappointing the Savior leads to sadness, but it should also lead to repentance.
And in 2 Kings 22:8, Hilkiah the priest discovers the book of the Deuteronomy in the temple. He gives it to the king’s secretary. He reads it to King
Josiah. And in verse 11, Josiah says “Oh, no!! Great is the LORD’s anger because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book!”
But then in verse 19, a prophet of the Lord says to the king, “Because your heart was responsive, and because you tore your robes and wept in
my presence, I’m going to hold back the judgment.”
And then in 2 Kings 23, King Josiah gets the entire country to rededicate their lives to God! Disappointing the Savior leads to sadness, but it
should also lead to repentance.
How many of you have read the book series Left Behind? In the first book, the Christian community gets raptured up into heaven. But the
assistant pastor of a local church gets left behind. He realizes that the reason WHY he was left behind was because he was never truly saved.
And so he goes inside the church. He falls on his knees. He says, "I’m a phony! I preached your word! I made people happy. But I never accepted
Jesus for myself! I didn’t practice what I preached! And that’s why I’m still here. Oh, Jesus, please forgive me. Give me one more chance! Use me
in a powerful way!"
Just then, a man puts his hand on the minister’s shoulder. And he says, "Reverend, he already has." And both men kneel at the altar and dedicate
their lives to Jesus Christ.
Luke 15:7 says that "there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to
repent." No matter who you are. No matter what you’ve done. You can still come back to God! As long as you’re as you’re alive, it’s not too late. As
long as you’re still breathing, it’s not too late. As long as you want to come back, it’s not too late! Disappointing the Savior leads to sadness, but it
should also lead to repentance.
Let’s be honest. No one’s perfect. We all have sin that needs to be forgiven. We’ve all had moments where we mess up.
And so today, I want you to ask for forgiveness for the sins you made in the past seven days. You can say “Lord, I shouldn’t have done it. But I
drank way too much the other day. Ephesians 5:18 says “Do not be drunk on wine, but be filled with the Spirit,” and I let you down. Please forgive
me.”
Or you can say, “Lord, I’ve been fighting with my mom all week. The Bible says I’m supposed to honor my parents, and I feel like I haven’t been
doing that. I feel like I’ve been denying your Lordship in this area of my life. Please accept my apology.”
Or you can say “Lord, I have a friend at work that needs to hear the gospel. I’ve been thinking about bringing him with me to church. And I keep
putting it off. I need your forgiveness.”
Some of you have been through confirmation, Sunday school, and Sunday morning church. But you’ve never had a saving relationship with Jesus
Christ. You’ve never had the security of knowing that Jesus is the King of your life.
The beautiful thing is that Jesus wants to be your King. He died for you on the cross to pay the price for your sins. And all you have to do is say “I
believe it! I accept it! I want it!" And if you pray that prayer, you will have eternal life, you will never perish, and nothing will be able to separate you
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Give your life to the One who gave His life for you.