["Pomp and Circumstance"]
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Good morning and welcome.
Let's find our seats.
Take our song books.
Turn to song 210.
210.
Wonderful grace of Jesus, 210.
Let's sing it out on the first.
Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin.
How shall my tongue describe it?
Where shall this place begin?
Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free.
Wonderful grace of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin.
How shall my tongue describe it?
Greater than the scope of my transgressions,
paid upon it all my sin and shame.
O magnify the precious name of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
All right, you're here.
You're awake.
Let's sing it out on the second.
Wonderful grace of Jesus, preaching to all the most.
I in I have been pardoned, saved to the utter host.
Chainsappled on a sabbath, wishing to ever see.
For the wonderful grace of Jesus, reaches me.
One knows all the matches' grace of Jesus, deeper than the body of a sea.
Higher than the answers, smoking like a phantom of sufficient grace,
when we believe.
One of them will stumble, my transgressions,
singing with our little muscles shining.
O magnify the precious name of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
All the last, wonderful grace of Jesus,
wishing the most to die.
I in should call in power, making the glass to dry.
I'm just an innocent man again, full of eternity.
And the wonderful grace of Jesus, reaches me.
Wonderful grace of Jesus, deeper than the body of a sea.
Higher than the answers, smoking like a phantom of sufficient grace,
when we believe.
One of them will stumble, my transgressions,
singing with our little muscles shining.
O magnify the precious name of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
Amen. We want to welcome you to Verity Baptist Church this morning.
We're glad you're with us.
We, of course, have a wonderful service lined up for you today.
And, of course, for our church family, it's a special Sunday.
It's the Vision Offering Sunday.
So you showed up to church on Vision Offering.
You must have guts, either the guts or faith.
So we appreciate you being here.
And let's go ahead and begin the service with a word of prayer.
Let's bow our heads together.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather together this morning, Lord.
We pray that you'd bless everything that's done today.
We pray that you'd bless the singing, the preaching.
And then, of course, Lord, we have a special offering today.
We pray that you would bless that as well.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Turn to Psalm 147.
One, four, seven.
One hundred forty-seven on the first.
Good. On the second.
Sing it out on the last.
Amen.
All right. Well, let's take our bulletins this morning.
We'll look at some announcements.
If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for you.
The verse this week, Psalm 62, verses one through two.
Truly my soul waiteth upon God.
From him cometh my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation.
He is my defense.
I shall not be greatly moved.
And that's a good verse there.
We like that.
If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 1030 a.m.
And, of course, we're glad that you are with us on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for church Sunday evening service
at 6 p.m. We do invite you to be back tonight at 6 p.m. for the evening service.
And the evening service is different than the morning service.
Different songs that are sung, different sermon that is preached.
And it's just one more opportunity to be in God's house, of course, with God's people under the preaching of the word of God.
And then, of course, we have our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m.
And we'd love for you to join us for the midweek service.
We call the Sunday night service the most exciting service of the week.
And we call the Wednesday night service the most encouraging service of the week.
So we'd love you to join us, of course, for all of those.
If you are a first time guest, if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church, we're glad you're with us.
We have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building this morning as you go out our main foyer.
Or if you go out our secondary foyer, you'll see a little table set up.
And on that table, you'll see these little gift bags.
Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest this morning.
There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have.
The one I'd like to highlight is this documentary that our church made.
It's called Being Baptist. It's very well made, very interesting.
We think you'll like it. And we want to give this to you as a gift.
So please make sure you don't leave here this morning without grabbing one of these gift bags on your way out.
And if you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication card, which is inserted in your bulletin.
If you need a pen, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can bring you by Verity Baptist Church pen.
You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well.
We're not going to do anything odd with your info. We would just love to have a record of your attendance.
We actually would like to send you a little gift, but we need your information to do that.
So please take a moment to fill the card out.
When we're done with the announcements, we're going to sing a song.
And when we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering.
And as the offering plate goes by, you can drop this card in the offering plate or you can hand it to me after the service.
I'll be standing at the main door greeting people on the way out.
If you look at the announcements there, we, of course, are a family integrated church.
What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the church service.
We do not separate children from their parents for any reason.
We do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience.
All of those rooms have comfortable seating.
They've got monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it.
So if you have a child that's being distracting during the service or if you need some privacy,
we would encourage you to use those rooms as needed.
If you need to be baptized, please let us know. We'd love to baptize you.
And on the back of your communication card, you can check off that you would like information about baptism.
And we'll follow up with you and talk to you about that.
If you've already spoken to somebody and you know you need to be baptized,
then all you need to do is at the end of the service while we're singing the last song,
if you step out that door after the preaching, we'll get you situated for baptism,
either this morning or tonight or whenever it's convenient for you.
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events,
of course, today is our vision offering.
And you should have one of these cards in your bulletin regarding our vision offering.
And let me just go ahead and say this.
If you're a first time guest, please just kind of turn me off for a second.
All right. So this is just an announcement for our church family.
But of course, here at Verde Baptist Church, every spring we take a special offering.
We call it our vision offering.
And we've got some things we're raising money for.
Today is our vision offering.
I just want to remind you, you can look at your card there or you can look at the bulletin.
The goals, the things that we're raising money for are, first of all,
we're wanting to continue to save for a down payment for a future building.
Lord willing, one day we'll be able to purchase property and purchase a building.
And we're working in that direction.
Of course, we want to continue to support our missions work.
We've got three churches that we've started in the Philippines, Manila, Pampanga, Bicol,
and all those churches are doing very well and we want to continue to support those.
Of course, we have missionaries in the Philippines as well.
Brother Matthew Stuckey, our evangelist, who we support full time in the Philippines,
is running those churches in Manila, Pampanga, Bicol.
And then we have another missionary, Dave Kabuntala, who is pastoring a church in Cebu.
So we've got missions work that we want to continue to support.
And then, of course, our eighth annual Red Hot Preaching Conference.
And the Red Hot Preaching Conference is a conference we do here every year.
And we literally have people from all over the country and all over the world that come to this conference.
And we have great preachers that come, of course, to be a part of it.
And we're raising money for those things.
So today you have an opportunity to give.
And, of course, you can give a one-time gift today during the offering.
You should have one of these envelopes there in your bulletin, a vision offering envelope.
And you can use this envelope. You don't have to use this envelope.
You can use your regular tithing envelope if you'd like.
But if you're going to give to the vision offering today, we just want you to mark somewhere,
either given this envelope or mark on the envelope or the check or whatever vision offering,
so that we know it is designated for that.
And then, of course, if you would like to commit to give over the next several months,
you have one of these cards in your bulletin as well, the vision offering commitment card.
And, of course, you can give a one-time gift today.
If you're not ready to give today, but you'd like to commit to give in the next three months,
you can do that as well.
Or you can give today and commit to give, whatever you'd like.
But you've got three months there, April, May, and June.
You can choose one or two or three of those and just write that out and put it in the offering plate.
And we will tally that up.
And that will be a help to us.
So I know we've been talking about, praying about the vision offering.
It's here today.
And we appreciate you being here.
So we'll see what the Lord will do.
Of course, tonight I'll be announcing the totals of the vision offering.
So we want to encourage you to be back tonight, 6 p.m., for the evening service.
And we'll be giving all of the tallies and letting you know kind of where we're at with that.
All right, so if you look at the announcements there, of course,
we have a baby shower coming up for Ms. Karen Jimenez on Saturday, April 15th at 3 p.m.
And Ms. Karen is having a boy.
She is registered on Amazon.
It is a potluck, so if you can, please bring a dish to share.
If you'd like to attend, you can sign up on your communication card.
And then, of course, we are getting ready for the Easter season.
And we want you to be prepared with some things.
First of all, don't forget that the Lord's Supper is on Wednesday, April 5th at 7 p.m.
We only receive the Lord's Supper once a year here at Verity Baptist Church.
And it's always a very special service.
So we don't want you to miss it, all right?
And we want you to make plans.
Even if you don't normally come to one of the midweek services or an evening service,
we would love for you to join us for the Lord's Supper on Wednesday, April 5th.
We take it the Wednesday before Easter.
And then, of course, we have Easter on Sunday, April 9th.
You should have one of these cards in your bulletin as well.
And we are giving this to you for a couple reasons.
First of all, to remind you about Easter.
It is on Sunday, April 9th.
Let you know what's going on on Easter.
Of course, I'll be preaching an Easter sermon.
We'll have special music from the choir and orchestra.
We'll be having a special gift for every guest in attendance.
And we'll be giving out Cadbury eggs for all the children in attendance.
And we want you to invite someone to Easter service.
If you've got a friend or a coworker or a neighbor,
you've been thinking about inviting to church,
Easter is the easiest time in the world to invite somebody to church.
And we want to encourage you to be here.
First of all, make sure you are here and in your place.
And then be thinking about somebody that you can invite to Easter this year.
VBC choir practice is today at 5 p.m. here in the auditorium.
They're practicing, of course, for Easter.
There's other things there for you to look at.
Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off
or place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anyone.
If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of March.
This week we have our evangelists, Matthew Stuckey and Miss Tan Stuckey,
have an anniversary on March 28th.
Levi Beville has a birthday on March 29th.
Matthew Vakulchik has a birthday on March 29th.
Brother Keith and Miss Katie Rosenberg have an anniversary on March 29th.
And Valor Roldan has a birthday on March 31st.
Praise Report, Monday Matters, all those things are there for you to look at.
And I think that's it for all of the announcements.
So we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week
as we prepare to receive the offering this morning.
And we'll sing I'd Rather Have Jesus.
And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
I'd rather be led by His nail pierced hand
Than to be the King of the last domain
And be held in sin's grand sway
I'd rather have Jesus anything
His world abhors to me
Good. Sing it out on the second.
I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause
I'd rather have Jesus than all my pain
I'd rather be true to His holy name
Than to be the King above us domain
And be held in sin's grand sway
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
His world abhors to me
Amen. Good singing.
We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time.
And again, today being our vision offering,
I want to remind you that if you'd like to give to the vision offering,
you can use the vision offering envelopes.
You can use the tithing envelopes.
Just write vision offering on them or on the checks.
And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather together this morning.
And of course, today is a special day for our church.
We've been talking about, we've been praying about,
and we have been preparing for the vision offering.
And Lord, I pray that you would bless the vision offering today.
Lord, we pray that you bless the gift and the giver.
I know there are so many people in our church that are sacrificing and stretching themselves
and doing what they can.
And Lord, we pray that you would bless them for it.
Lord, we ask that you would bless the vision offering.
Of course, we've got a goal that we'd like to reach, Lord, and we put that in your hands.
We pray that you'd help us reach the goal and we commit that to you.
And Lord, we ask that you would continue to bless our church and help our church.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
We pray.
Turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 22.
Luke chapter 22.
If you do not have a Bible, raise your hand, and Anash will bring you one.
Luke chapter 22.
This morning we'll read verses 31 through 62.
Luke chapter 22.
Just keep your hands up, and Anash will bring you a Bible.
Luke chapter 22, verse 31, the Bible reads,
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death.
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, lacked ye anything?
And they said, Nothing.
Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip,
and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
For I say unto you, That this that is written must yet be accomplished in me.
And he was reckoned among the transgressors, for the things concerning me have an end.
And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords.
And he said unto them, It is enough.
And he came out and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives, and his disciples also followed him.
And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying,
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.
And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly.
And his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
and said unto them, Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
And while he had spake, behold a multitude.
And he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?
When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders which were come out to him,
Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me.
But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
Then took they that him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house.
And Peter followed afar off.
And when they had kindled the fire in the midst of the hall, they 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 saw him, and said, Thou art also of them.
And Peter said, Man, I am not.
And about the space of one hour, after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth, this fellow was also with him.
For he is a Galilean.
And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest.
And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock grew.
And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.
And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Let's pray.
Lord God Almighty, thank you for this day.
Thank you for allowing us to come together.
Please bless Pastor in the message.
Let it bring glory and honor to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Amen.
All right, we're there in Luke chapter number 22.
And this morning, what we are doing is we are getting back into our Journey with Jesus sermon series.
If you remember, we last year spent the entire year in the Gospel of Luke in a series called Journey with Jesus.
And it really was a verse by verse study through the Gospel of Luke.
And right at Christmas time, we took a break from that series.
And of course, I did a Christmas series then, and we've been doing other stuff since then.
And back then, I told you that we were going to get back to the Gospel of Luke and finish up the Gospel of Luke during the Easter season of this year.
And that's exactly what we are doing.
We are starting back up in Luke chapter 22.
And we are going to continue through the Gospel of Luke, finish the Gospel of Luke as we enter the Easter season.
And I'm sure none of you remember this, but I'll just go ahead and say it if you're watching online or if you're looking at the website.
We've been systematically going verse by verse, chapter by chapter.
We actually ended back in December at Luke chapter 21.
And we're starting up this morning at Luke 22 and verse number 31, which means that we skipped the first 30 verses in Luke 22.
But we're going to come back to that right before the Lord's Supper.
Of course, that's dealing with the institution of the Lord's Supper, and we're going to come back to that before the Lord's Supper.
So if you're watching this online or following along and you're wondering why that wasn't covered, it will be covered.
This morning, we are going to look at this passage of Scripture.
And we're going to specifically look at Peter and Peter's denial of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Luke 22 and verse number 31, the Bible says,
And the Lord said, of course, this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to Peter.
And he says, Simon, Simon.
And you should always pay attention in the Gospels when the Lord Jesus Christ repeats a name.
When he gives a name twice, it's done for emphasis, it's done for importance.
There's something important that's coming.
We saw him do that, of course, with the story of Martha and her sister.
When he says, Martha, Martha, here we see him say, Simon, Simon, behold.
And I want you to notice what Jesus says to Peter.
He says, Satan hath desire to have you that he may sift you as wheat.
Satan hath desire to have you that he may sift you as wheat.
And of course, this is the Lord Jesus Christ getting ready to go into his crucifixion.
Tonight, we'll be looking at the Lord Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And here, before he enters Gethsemane, before the events begin to take place in which he will be crucified,
buried, and of course, resurrected, he takes a moment to warn Peter, Simon, that Satan is about to attack.
Satan hath desire to have you that he may sift you as wheat.
I want you to notice that word sift.
Of course, this is a farming term that Jesus is using here.
He's speaking to the disciples who lived in an agricultural society, so they would have understood this.
But the word sift simply means to separate or to scatter or to sprinkle.
And the idea is that they would take wheat, and they would have to sift it or separate it.
They would scatter it in order to remove the wheat from the chaff.
And what Jesus is telling Peter is that Satan has a desire to have you.
He wants to destroy you, and he wants to destroy you completely.
He wants to sift you.
He wants to scatter you.
He wants to completely annihilate you.
He says, like you would completely separate and scatter and sprinkle wheat.
And I'd like you to keep your place there in Luke 22.
That's our text for this morning.
But go with me, if you would, to the book of 1 Peter, 1 Peter 5.
If you start at the end of the New Testament and you go backwards, you've got the book of Revelation,
the book of Jude, 3 and 1 John, 2 and 1 Peter, and then James.
Revelation, Jude, 3 and 1 John, 2 and 1 Peter, and then the book of James.
I want you to be in 1 Peter, not James, 1 Peter.
And I'd like you to do me a favor, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there in 1 Peter
because we're going to leave it, and we're going to come back to it,
and I'd like you to be able to get there quickly.
So make sure you stick something there in 1 Peter 5.
And I want you to notice, now remember, Jesus said to Peter,
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat.
Peter, we'll see, does not take that warning very well, and he ends up failing.
We're going to look at Peter's denial.
We're going to look at the fact that Peter actually denies the Lord Jesus Christ.
He gets backslidden, and he quits on God.
That's not the end of the story of Peter, praise God for that,
but this was definitely a failure in his life.
I want you to notice in 1 Peter 5, it's an epistle written by the apostle Peter.
Obviously, he's much older now, and he's recovered.
He's right with God, and he's being used of God.
And I want you to notice when he tells the people that he's talking to,
the people that he's warning, 1 Peter 5 and verse 8,
be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary,
the word adversary is referring to your opponent, your enemy, your foe,
your adversary, the devil.
And I want you to notice the Bible speaks of the devil as a real being.
This is not mythology.
This is not some sort of an illustration where the devil kind of illustrates
everything that's bad and evil in the world.
The devil is an actual person.
And here Peter says, your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about.
I want you to notice what he says.
He says, seeking whom he may devour.
I want you to notice that word devour there.
It's a very descriptive word.
And of course, Peter uses that word within the context of a lion.
He says that the devil is as a roaring lion walking about,
seeking whom he may devour.
And if you've ever seen like a nature show or something like that,
and you watch lions eat, that's the right word to describe the devouring of meat.
That word devour means to consume hungrily, voraciously, recklessly,
to completely destroy.
It's very similar to the same thing that Jesus told Peter.
Satan had desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
He doesn't just want to play with you, is what Jesus is saying.
He wants to completely destroy you.
He wants to separate you.
He wants to scatter you.
He wants to sprinkle you.
He wants to devour you.
Peter would say the devil as a roaring lion walking about,
seeking whom he may devour, who he can completely, recklessly destroy, annihilate.
And I'm just beginning this morning by laying the context.
We're going to look at this passage of Peter's denial.
But let me just say this.
You might ask yourself, why would I care about Peter,
and why would I care about Peter's denial, and why would I care to learn about the story?
And here's what you need to understand, that like Peter, Satan is your enemy as well.
This was not just words being spoken to Peter.
They were about Peter.
But the truth is that Peter then turns around and tells the rest of us,
hey, it's not just me.
You might want to be sober and be vigilant,
because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walking about,
seeking whom he may sift, who he may devour, who he may destroy.
So like Peter, Satan wants you, because he is your enemy as well.
He is your adversary.
Let me just say this by way of introduction.
Like Peter, Satan wants to completely destroy you.
I wish that I had the communication skills to be able to help you understand this
at the depth that it needs to be understood.
But Christians often, because of self-confidence,
and we're going to talk about that here in a minute,
they think, oh, I can just play with the devil.
I can just play with the world.
I can just play with sin, and it'll be fine.
Let me help you understand something, that you might enter into sin as a game,
but Satan enters into sin as your opponent, as your enemy, as your adversary,
and he has one goal, not to hurt you, not to hinder you,
not to teach you a lesson, but to completely destroy you.
I wish husbands would understand.
What Satan wants is to destroy you, destroy your wife, destroy your family.
I wish young people would get.
I'm just playing with these drugs, and I'm playing with this alcohol.
I'm just kind of playing with watching things I shouldn't be looking at on the internet.
No, no, no. Satan wants to completely annihilate and destroy you.
He wants to sift you as we.
He wants to devour you like a roaring lion.
And Peter did not take heed.
Peter did not take the warning of the Lord Jesus Christ seriously.
So, in Luke chapter 22, go back to Luke 22.
Keep your place in 1 Peter if you would. We're going to come back to it.
What we see is Peter's downward steps towards destruction.
And what I'd like to do this morning is highlight for you the four steps that we see in this passage
that Peter took towards his spiritual destruction.
He didn't lose his salvation, but he lost his testimony.
He was able to get right with God and come back, but forever this is part of his history, part of his life.
He lost that time. He lost that opportunity.
And I want to highlight for you the steps that we see the apostle Peter take
that led him to being sifted as we led him to being destroyed.
And I want to give this to you as a warning, and I realize that some of you are not going to take heed,
but I'm hoping that you'll hear it, and one day you'll wake up,
because the truth of the matter is that there are some in this room that are already walking down this road,
already taking these steps. So I'd like you to become aware of them.
Notice the steps that Peter took that led him towards backsliding, led him towards denying,
led him towards destruction, led him towards eventually quitting on God.
If you're taking notes this morning, and I always encourage you to take notes,
on the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to write down some things.
Let me give you four steps this morning that we see from the apostle Peter.
The first one is this, and you can write it maybe under this heading.
Step number one, having a false sense of confidence, having a false sense of confidence.
I want you to notice our story there. Again, Luke 22, verse 31.
And the Lord said, this is Jesus. This is God in the flesh.
This is the Lord God Almighty, omnipotent, omniscient.
The Lord said, Simon, Simon, you would think if Jesus was giving you a warning, you'd take heed, right?
But the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as we.
And he, Peter, said unto him, Jesus, and he says, Lord.
I always think it's interesting that he says Lord, because he's about to correct Jesus.
And my question is, if he's Lord, why are you talking back?
And he said unto him, Lord, because what did Jesus say?
Jesus said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as we.
And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready.
Jesus says, Peter, be careful. Satan's coming for you.
And his response is, I am ready. I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death.
And please understand something. I believe that Peter was genuine.
He was authentic. He was sincere. But he was sincerely wrong.
He said, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death.
Now, I want you to notice that the first step that led Peter down the road of destruction was a false sense of confidence.
Peter is basically saying to Jesus, you're wrong. I can handle this.
He's saying to Jesus, I got this. Don't worry. Don't you worry about me. Take care of what you got to take care of.
I am ready. Jesus, I don't know about you. I don't know what you're going to go through.
But I'm ready to go with thee both into prison and to death.
And of course, we see the response of the Savior. Verse 34.
And he, Jesus, said, I tell thee, Peter, the cot shall not crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
One of the problems that we see with Peter is this false sense of confidence.
It's this idea that I've got this. I'm good. I don't need help. I don't need accountability.
I don't need anybody telling me what to do. I can take care of this on my own.
And I'm here to tell you something. The moment that you and I get to the place where we develop this false sense of confidence,
this idea that I've got it. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about me. Maybe someone else, but not me.
You have already started down the road of destruction.
Go to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew 26. You're there in Luke. If you go backwards, you'll go past the book of Mark into the book of Matthew.
Matthew chapter 26. We'll look at the same story from a different passage.
Matthew 26 and verse 33. Of course, Mark and Luke are synoptic gospels, meaning that they deal with the same stories from different perspectives.
In Matthew 26 and verse 33, we get different details of the conversation the Bible says Peter answered and said unto him.
Why don't you notice Peter's sense of confidence? Peter answered and said unto him, though all men should be offended. Notice the pride.
Everyone else will fall, but not me, Jesus. Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
And to that statement, what we would all say is, never say never.
Do you see the false sense of confidence? Amen. Though all men should offend because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee that this night before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Go to Judges, if you would, in the Old Testament. I want to give you an illustration, an Old Testament illustration of the same self-confidence.
Judges chapter 16, if you start at the beginning of the Old Testament, you have the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, then the books of Joshua and Judges.
Joshua and Judges, Judges chapter 16, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and then the book of Judges, Judges chapter 16.
A false sense of confidence will destroy you. Look, we want you to grow. Almost everything we do around here at Radio Baptist Church has an underlying goal of helping you grow and mature in your Christian life.
That's what we want. That's what God wants. God wants you to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.
But as you grow and as you mature and as you develop and as you grow in your Christian life and grow in the victories that God has given you, make sure you don't develop this false sense of confidence that says, oh, I've got it now.
I'm good now. I don't need preaching anymore. Yeah, I did need Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night at one point, but I'm good now. I can survive off of just Sunday morning only.
I don't need to have anybody checking in on me. I don't need to have anybody that needs to know where I am or what I'm doing. I don't need to tell my wife where I'm at.
I don't need anyone. This false sense of confidence. We see it here with Samson. The famous story of Samson, the strong man of the Bible. I won't take the time to go through the whole thing, but if you remember, Samson had been given supernatural strength by God.
And the idea was, the deal that God had made was that the strength was in his hair. And he had taken a Nazarite vow, which means that he was not to cut his hair during the Nazarite vow.
Generally speaking, a Nazarite vow was something that someone would take for weeks or months, and for that time period, they would abstain from certain things, and one of the things that they abstained from was cutting their hair.
Samson was different in the sense that he had been given the Nazarite vow from the womb. He lived his entire life under the Nazarite vow, so he'd never cut his hair.
And this was actually not something that was cool. This was meant to be a shame, because the Bible says, does not nature itself teach you that it's a shame for a man to have long hair.
And Samson, it wasn't like he was walking around like a hippie and everybody was high-fiving him and thinking, wow, you're cool with your long hair. This was meant to be something that made him stick out.
And Samson, of course, was given the supernatural strength, and because of his strength, many victories were won at the hands of Samson. Because of the victories, he developed a false sense of confidence.
He got around a woman by the name of Delilah. If you remember, Delilah began to work and the Philistines came to Delilah, the enemies of Samson, and they bribed her and they said, we will give you a certain amount of money if you can figure out where his strength lies, that we might kill him.
And if you remember, Samson is playing games with Delilah, and I won't take the time to go through the whole story, but in Judges 16 and verse 7, Samson tells Delilah, if they bind me with seven green wits that were never dried,
he said, then I'll lose my strength, and he says, and I'll be as other men, like any other man. And of course, she does that, and then the Philistines come and she says, the Philistines will be upon thee, Samson, and he gets up and he breaks the seven green wits, and his strength is still there.
Then we see it happen again. Delilah comes to him again and says, you've mocked me, you lied to me. And Samson playing with Delilah, playing with the devil, playing with sin, overly confident, having a good time, he says, if they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then I'll lose my strength.
So he falls asleep, and she does it again. She binds him with new ropes, and she says, the Philistines will be upon thee, Samson. And again, he gets up and rips the ropes off with his strength.
And then we see it again. And in Judges 16 and verse 13, he tells Delilah, if thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. Notice we get closer to the actual source.
He says, if thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web, then I'll lose my strength. And of course, she does it. He falls asleep and she does it. And she says, the Philistines will be upon thee, Samson, and he gets up. And the Bible says that he rips the web off the ground with the pins, and he has a strength.
And then I want you to notice that we see it again. Look at verse 16. Judges 16 and verse 16, and it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death.
Every young man should underline that verse. That is the type of woman you want to stay away from.
That he told her, here's another verse for young men, that he told her all his heart. Be careful about this. This wasn't his wife. This wasn't his mom.
You know, there's some things young people you shouldn't talk about. There's some inner secrets and desires you don't need to be sharing with your friends.
But because she pressed him daily with her words and urged him. And by the way, forget young people. How about married men and married women at work?
When he pressed him daily with her words and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death, that he told her all his heart and said unto her,
There has not come a razor upon mine head, for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb. If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak.
Notice the self-confidence. Notice the pride. He says, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.
And what I want to say to Samson is, Samson, you are like every other man. It is not you that has given you the strength.
The Bible is clear about the fact that his strength came from the Holy Spirit more than any other man in the Bible. It says about Samson that the Holy Ghost came upon him.
But his confidence has gotten the best of him. His pride has gotten the best of him. This false sense of confidence. The Bible tells us that he tells her his heart and he says,
I shall be like any other man. Verse 18, and when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the Lord to the Philistines, saying,
Come up this once, for he has showed me all his heart. Then the Lord to the Philistines came upon her and brought money in their hand, and she made him sleep upon her knees.
Notice his confidence. He falls asleep on her knees. And she called for a man, she calls him to shave off the seven locks off his head, and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
And she said to the Philistines, and she said, she says it again, the Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep and said, please don't miss it.
I want you to see it there in verse 20. Notice the self-confidence, the false sense of confidence. And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as at other times before.
And shake myself. I mean, look at him. He hears. The devil's here. Satan hath desired to have you, Samson, that he might shift you as we. Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
And what is Samson's response? His response is, I'll go out as at other times and shake myself. And he, notice the words, wist not. What does that mean? The word wist means to know.
He wist not. He knew not. He was unaware that the Lord was departed from him. But the Philistines took him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bedders of brass, and he did grind in the prison house.
I'm here to tell you that a false sense of confidence is the first step towards destruction. Go ahead. Go ahead and have that date. Go ahead and make that phone call. Go ahead and take those drugs.
You say, well, I've done it before and I'll do it again. My wife didn't find out the first time. My husband didn't find out the first time. The IRS didn't find out the first time. My employer didn't find out the first time. I've done it before. There's never been a problem.
Every time the Philistines show up, I just wake up and kind of shake things off, and everything's fine. But let me tell you something. A false sense of confidence will lead you down to destruction, and there's coming a day when you're going to get up and shake yourself and roar like you have before, but it'll be different.
And he wished not that the Lord was departed from him, and they took him and put out his eyes and bound him with bedders, and he did grind in the prison house.
I'm just telling you, you better check your confidence. This false sense of confidence. I'm good. I got it. No problem. Other people can't, but I'm fine. No, no, no, no. You'll find yourself like Samson.
Blinded, binded, and grinding. You don't have to turn here. I'll just read these verses for you. In fact, you go to 1 Corinthians, if you would, 1 Corinthians in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians.
While you turn there, let me read some verses from Proverbs for you. You go to 1 Corinthians. I'll read to you from Proverbs 16, 18. The Bible says,
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. The word haughty means arrogant, lifted up, believing to be superior.
Proverbs 18, 12. Before destruction, the heart of the man is haughty, and before honor is humility. Proverbs 29, 23. A man's pride shall bring him low, but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Proverbs 11 and verse 2. When pride cometh, then cometh shame, but with the lowly is wisdom. Are you there in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 12?
Here's what the Bible says, wherefore, 1 Corinthians 10, 12, wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall.
And you know what Peter should have been told when he says, don't worry about me, I'm ready. You're saying that he wants to sift me as wheat, but I'm ready.
What he should have been told is, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Because having a false sense of confidence.
Look, some of you, I hope this isn't true. I hope this isn't true, but I've done this long enough to know it is true. Some of you will not be here this time next year.
Some of you, your lies will be completely destroyed. I hope it's not true this time next year.
And it's because you're sitting there with a smug attitude thinking, I don't need this sermon. It's not for me.
I'm good, Pastor. I needed you and I needed Ms. Joanne. You know, I needed you guys two years ago, but I'm good now. I don't need a pastor anymore.
I don't need church anymore. I don't need the Bible anymore. I don't need anybody anymore. I'm ready. We'll see about that, Samson.
Go to Galatians chapter 6. You're there in 1 Corinthians. You go past 2 Corinthians into the book of Galatians, Galatians chapter 6.
Galatians chapter 6, the Bible says this, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.
We ought to help. Look, we're supposed to be helping each other, helping each other from falling, and if someone does fall, then we're supposed to help pick them up.
But here's the spirit and here's the attitude. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.
Not looking down on them, saying, I can't believe you fell. I can't believe this is what happened to you. Look at you, aren't you, and be like, no, no, no.
Restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
You say, how do you go from being Peter, the leader of the apostles, the only other man the Bible records walking on water,
the man who led the disciples. Every time you see the names of the disciples listed in the Bible, you always start with Peter.
Why? Because he was in charge, because he was the leader. He had the influence. How do you go from being Peter, the leader of the disciples, to Peter?
A denier, denying that you even know who Jesus is. How does it start? Well, step one starts with a false sense of confidence.
Let me give you another step. Go back to Luke 22. I said, number one, we see having a false sense of confidence will lead you to destruction.
But I want you to notice, secondly, in Luke 22 and verse 54, we see Peter, the Bible says, then they took him.
Now, again, let me acknowledge the fact that we're skipping some verses here. We're skipping verses 35 through 53.
Verses 35 through 53 deal with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We're going to skip those this morning, and we're going to come back to those tonight.
So we'll cover the entire portion of Scripture tonight. We'll look at Jesus specifically in the Garden of Gethsemane tonight.
This morning, since we're looking at the denial of Peter, we'll follow Peter through the story.
And in verse 54, the Bible says, then they took him, referring to the fact that they arrested Jesus. We'll look at that tonight.
And led him and brought him into the high priest's house. Jesus is led into the house of Caiaphas. He's led to be judged by the Jews.
We'll see on Wednesday night that Jesus goes through three different judgments, one before the Jews, one before Pilate, and one before Herod.
And I want you to notice what the Bible says here about Peter.
Then they took him and led him and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter, notice these words, followed. Isn't that good?
I mean, if it just ended right there, isn't that good? And Peter followed. But here's the bad part.
And Peter followed afar off.
I want you to notice the steps of destruction are having a false sense of confidence. But number two, step number two is starting to follow afar off.
Now I realize that this is describing literally physically what Peter did. They've arrested Jesus and they're taking him.
And Peter is following, but he's not right there with them. He's afar off. We understand that.
But I think there's some spiritual implications here, not only spiritual, but I want you to notice that Peter, it's not like Peter is following and say,
Hey, wait a minute. I'm with Jesus. No, no, this isn't right.
They've arrested Jesus. And it's not like Peter's right there with them saying, you got to let him go. This isn't right. This is wrong. No, no.
Peter is doing what he's been doing for the last three and a half years.
He is following Jesus from the moment that we see Peter in the Gospels. We see Jesus telling Peter, follow me.
And Peter left all and followed him. He's been following Jesus. He's been with Jesus. He's been at the side of Jesus this entire time.
But now we see something different. We see him following. Yes, following still, but afar off.
He starts to follow far off. You say, what does that mean? Go to Revelation. Last book in the New Testament, Revelation chapter two.
I believe that this is a spiritual, there's a spiritual picture here for us.
See, the first step towards you quitting, the first step towards your destruction, the first step towards your annihilation,
the first step towards Satan completely destroying your life is number one, having a false sense of confidence. Yeah.
But number two is starting to follow far off. See, nobody goes from Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, soul winning,
nine chapters of the day, vision offering, you know, just involved and ready. And then they just wake up next week and they're like,
out of church, just completely gone, backslidden, back on drugs, back on alcohol. It doesn't happen that way.
Right? You go from Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night to Sunday morning, Wednesday night,
Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, Sunday morning, Sunday night, not Wednesday night.
And you just kind of begin to back off a little bit. You're just not as zealous, not as sold out,
not as committed, not as following. You see, the difference between following afar off is following closely.
Whenever I'm in Vancouver, Washington, preaching at Sure Foundation, we'll meet Pastor Thompson somewhere,
we're going to follow him somewhere. He always uses a little line. He says, follow me like you follow Christ.
And the idea is, you know, stay with me and don't get lost, you know. And I like that phrase because, you know,
you should never follow Jesus afar off. You ought to be right there. Revelation chapter 2, look at it,
same idea, different passage, different wording. Revelation chapter 2, verse 4, nevertheless,
I have someone against these. It's Jesus speaking to the church at Ephesus. He says,
I have someone against thee because thou has left thy first love. Remember when you used to be excited
about soul winning? Remember when you used to be excited about Sunday night church?
Remember when you were excited about the church raising money to do great things for God?
Remember when you were excited in your Christian life? You couldn't wait to wake up and read the Bible.
You couldn't wait to show up for the activity at church. You couldn't wait to be around God's people,
to sing God's hymns, to hear the preaching of God's word. But somewhere along the line,
you left your first love. You're still following. Don't know, don't get me wrong. You're still following.
It's just a far off. You're just a little further away than you used to be. You're just a little less zealous
than you used to be. You're just a little less consistent than you used to be. You're just a
little less sold out than you used to be. He says, I have someone against thee because thou has left
thy first love. And see, when you lose your first love, you lose your seal. Let me give you another example.
Go to Revelation chapter 3. You're there in Revelation 2. Just flip over to Revelation 3.
Revelation 3 and verse 15. Revelation 3, 15, I know that it works. This is Jesus speaking to the church of Laodicea.
He says, I know that it works that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou wert cold or hot.
This is what Pastor Anderson was preaching to the young people at the youth rally, this idea.
You know, God says, I'd rather you just be all the way in or if you're not going to be all the way in,
then just go all the way out. But this whole half in, half out, he said, it makes me sick.
He said, how can you say that? Well, look what he said. I know that it works that thou art neither cold nor hot.
I would that work cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, this lukewarm, lackluster, half in, half out,
not excited, just kind of going through the motions. Christianity says because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot.
He says, I will spew thee out of my mouth. And then notice again the false sense of confidence.
Verse 17, because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing.
I'm ready. And know is not that thou are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
So what do I do? What do I do if I started, Pastor, I'm one of those, I've started to follow a far off.
My Bible reading is not what it used to be. My prayer time is not what it used to be.
My soul winning is not what it used to be. My church attendance is not what it used to be.
Just in my heart, I just I'm growing colder and I'm falling. I'm in quit, but I'm falling a far off.
You say, what do I do? What's the answer?
We'll go back to Revelation two, because I only read one verse for you.
But notice that Jesus gives them the remedy in Revelation two and verse four.
He says, Nevertheless, I have someone against thee because I was left thy first love.
Verse five, Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen and repent.
Here's the key and do the first works.
You say, I lost my first love. What do I do? Get back to your first works.
Get back to doing what you were doing when you had your first love. Get back to those first works.
And look, this is something that I think if I could help people, if there's one thing I can help people understand,
I think this would definitely make it on on the list, something that my wife and I try to help people in counseling all the time.
And it is this, that emotions follow action, not vice versa.
Just learn this. Everything the world tells you is wrong.
You know what the world says? Get your emotions right, and then your actions will follow.
So the world looks at a depressed person who's sleeping all day, not going to work, not being productive, just not accomplishing anything.
And then, of course, they're depressed. They're discouraged. So what does the world say?
The world says, Let's change your emotions. Let's put you on some medication that's going to make you feel better.
And then hopefully your actions will follow. That's not going to happen.
So what do I do? Get up. Get dressed.
Start doing something. Start being productive. You say, I'm depressed. I'm discouraged because I feel like a loser husband.
Well, get up and stop being. Stop doing what a loser husband does.
Start doing what a good husband does and you'll start feeling like a good husband.
Get up and start doing what a good mom does. Start doing what a good wife does.
Start doing what a good father does. Start doing what a good Christian does.
Start doing what a good church member does. Start doing what a good employee does.
Start doing what a good employer does. Get back to the first works.
You might be able to recover your first love. Don't follow far off.
Don't get behind and get behind and get behind.
And we keep looking in that rear view mirror and we're like, yeah, they're getting further back.
Sometimes I want to get out, just kind of take out the window and yell back,
follow me like you follow Jesus. Or like you should follow Jesus.
Getting behind and getting behind and getting behind and eventually you're not there.
What are the steps towards destruction? Number one, having a false sense of confidence.
Number two, starting to follow far off.
I don't know what my communication skills are. I try to communicate clearly.
But if I have not made the point, let me try to make the point as clearly as possible.
Some of you need to get back to Sunday Night Church.
I don't know how else to say it more clearly than that.
Some of you need to get back to Wednesday Night Church.
Some of you need to get back to Soul Money.
Some of you need to get up after the service and say, I repent. Here's my vision offering.
Some of you need to get back to Bible reading.
You need to get back to prayer. You need to get back.
You say, I've lost my first love. Get back to your first works.
The first love will follow.
Starting to follow after is a sure way to destruction.
Let me give you the third step. Go back to Luke 22.
We're looking at the steps that Peter took towards denial, towards destruction, towards quitting.
What are they? Number one, having a false sense of confidence.
What are they? Number two, starting to follow afar off.
Here's step number three, deciding to fellowship with the wrong people.
Look at it. Luke 22, verse 55.
And when they, who's they? The wrong people.
And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall.
Remember, Jesus just got taken into the house of Caiaphas.
He just got taken into where he's going to stand trial.
This kangaroo court, this mock trial of the Jews.
And here's where Peter finds himself and notice what he decides to do.
And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down together,
Peter sat down among them.
Step three, deciding to fellowship with the wrong people.
Go to Psalms real quickly.
Psalm 1, if you open your Bible just right in the center.
Psalm 1. You say, what's wrong with Peter sitting down among them?
What's wrong with Peter sitting down?
They're all, these people are sitting there. They're not followers of Jesus.
They're with the wrong crowd. They're in the wrong place.
But he's just sitting there. What's the big deal?
Psalm 1 and verse 1. Look at it.
Psalm 1, 1. Blessed is the man that, look at what it says,
walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
You say, I want to be blessed. Don't walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
Nor standeth in the way of sinners.
Nor siteth in the seat of the scornful.
You say, what's wrong with Peter? You know what's wrong with Peter?
He was sitting in the seat of the scornful.
He was standing in the way of sinners.
He was walking in the counsel of the ungodly.
He decided to fellowship with the wrong people.
The Bible says blessed is the man that walketh not.
You know there's some things you have to not do in order to be blessed.
Now there's some things you have to do to be blessed.
We're going to look at it here in a minute.
But before you even get there, there's some things you've got to stop doing before you can be blessed.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
Not getting counsel from the ungodly.
Not getting advice from the ungodly.
Not getting life principles from the world, but getting it from God and God's people.
Nor standeth in the way of sinners.
Nor siteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord.
And it is law that he meditate day and night.
Verse 3, And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit and his season.
His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
What does that mean? That means strength.
Not fake self-confidence, but real strength in the word of God.
When I was a kid, we used to sing this song.
I don't know that we really have ever sung it here, but we used to sing that song,
I shall not be moved.
I shall not be, I shall not be moved.
I shall not be moved, just like a tree planted by the waters.
I shall not be moved.
How can I be like that?
How can I be like the apostle Paul who said, none of these things move me?
Well, you're not going to get there by walking in the counsel of the ungodly.
You're not going to get there by standing in the way of sinners.
You're not going to get there, Peter, by sitting in the seat of the scornful.
See, he decided to fellowship with the wrong people.
And here's a question I have for you.
Who do you spend most of your time with?
You say, well, pastor, you don't understand.
I mean, I got to go to work.
I work 40 hours a week, 50 hours a week, 60 hours a week.
I got to be around worldly people.
Look, I get that.
I'm not saying that we need to become Amish and go live somewhere in some commune by ourselves.
The Bible does not teach that.
But what I am saying is that coming to a church service on Sunday mornings once every eight weeks
and spending 52 minutes with God's people, you show up late and you leave early.
And then you wonder why you don't have the zeal of God's people.
It's because you're not around God's people.
You spend more time with your neighbors.
You spend more time with your coworkers.
You spend more time with the world.
Hey, you know what the Bible says?
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
You know what the Bible says?
It says, make no friendship with an angry man.
And with a furious man, thou shall not go.
Why?
Lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul.
You know what the Bible says?
So a man is sharper than the countenance of his friend.
I'm just explaining to you.
I realize some of you don't think you need the sermon.
I get that.
Hopefully you'll remember the sermon when you do get to the place where you did need it.
Step one, having a false sense of confidence, Samson.
I'm ready.
No, you're not.
Step two, starting to follow a far off, drifting away slowly.
You're just not as consistent as you used to be.
You're just not as happy as you used to be.
You're just not fellowshipping with God's people like you used to fellowship.
There's just something missing.
Yeah, it's your first love.
Step three, deciding to fellowship with the wrong people.
Well, what's wrong with?
What's wrong with hanging out with?
What's it matter?
Here's what it matters is you start spending more time with the world than you do with
God's people.
You're going to start acting like the world, thinking like the world, being influenced
by the world.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the
way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Let me give you the fourth one.
Step number four.
I said number one, step one, having a false sense of confidence.
Step two, starting to fall far off.
Step three, deciding to fellowship with the wrong people.
Here's step number four, trying to fit in with the world.
Luke 22 verse 56.
But a certain maid, the word maid is often used in reference to a virgin young lady.
We're talking about a young girl, not a married woman.
A young girl.
But a certain maid beheld him.
This is Peter, the apostle, rough, tough fisherman, work all night, leader of the apostles.
He's about to get punked by a 12-year-old girl.
But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, sitting where he shouldn't be sitting,
standing where he shouldn't be standing, fellowshipping where he shouldn't be fellowshipping.
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.
This guy looks like, aren't you one of those disciples?
Aren't you?
You were one of those 12.
This man was also with him, and he denied him.
Denied who?
Jesus.
And he denied him, saying, woman, I know him not.
And after a little while, another saw him and said, thou art also of them.
And Peter said, man, I am not.
Oh, man, I'm not.
And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, of a truth,
this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean.
And Peter said, man, I know not what thou sayest.
What did Peter get dragged into?
He got dragged into fitting in with the world.
And please understand something.
This happens.
This happens subconsciously.
You start hanging around people that like certain things, that value certain things,
that desire certain things.
You'll begin to like and value and desire those same things.
Just the way it is.
You say, well, it's human nature.
You say, well, what do I do?
Hang out with people that value soul winning.
Hang out with people that value soberness.
Hang out with people that value the King James Bible, that value the word of God,
that value the house of God.
But you hang out with people that value the world, value something else.
And all this is, all we're watching is events play out,
and the way they play out in middle schools all across this country,
and high schools all across this country,
and universities all across this country.
And at your job, it doesn't matter if you're 16 or 60.
He's trying to be cool, man.
Man, I know I'm not.
Man, I know not what thou sayest.
He's trying to fit in with the world.
Go back to 1 Peter.
Remember I asked you to keep your place there?
It's interesting to me that Peter wrote these words
because we're looking at Peter's life.
He had a false sense of confidence.
He started to follow afar off.
He decided to fellowship with the wrong people,
and then he tried to fit in with the world,
and his life was destroyed.
You say, what should he have done?
Here's what he should have done.
This is what Peter tells us to do.
1 Peter 4.16,
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed.
You know, you should not be ashamed to be a Christian.
You should not be ashamed to be a Baptist.
I'm a Baptist.
I'm not ashamed of being a Baptist.
I'm not ashamed of some Baptist,
but I'm not ashamed of being a Baptist.
I'm a Baptist with a capital B.
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed,
but let him only glorify God on this behalf.
Go to 2 Timothy 1.
2 Timothy, if you go backwards from 1 Peter,
you've got James, Hebrews, Philemon, Titus, 2 Timothy.
The T books, they're all clustered together.
We've got to do this quickly.
2 Timothy chapter 1.
2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7.
2 Timothy 1.7, the Bible says,
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear,
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
You don't need to be afraid.
Whenever you're afraid, if you're afraid of something,
if you're fearing something other than the Lord,
that did not come from God.
The only thing we're ever commanded is to fear the Lord.
Everything else we should not be afraid of.
God hath not given us the spirit of fear.
He's given us the spirit of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind.
Verse 8,
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.
Not nor, Paul says, of me his prisoner,
but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel
according to the power of God.
Look, the problem, you know what,
one of the things that I noticed that's wrong with fundamentalism,
and I'm a fundamentalist, and I'm not ashamed of that.
I'm not embarrassed of that.
One of the problems that I find with fundamentalists,
with conservative Christianity,
is that we're constantly on the defense.
We're on this defense trying to explain away,
and well, you know, it's because,
hey, how about you get on the offense?
Hey, you ladies that stay home, and you do what the Bible says,
and you stay home with your children,
and you're a housekeeper and a homemaker,
hey, don't be ashamed of that.
Some other lady out in the world asks you what you do for a living.
Well, you know, don't be embarrassed.
When they tell you,
well, I'm the CEO of some company.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry your loser husband doesn't provide for you.
But I'm doing what God called me to do.
I'm just saying don't be ashamed.
And I'm not saying we should be rude to people.
I'm talking when people are talking down to you.
I'm not ashamed.
I wish you young people would look.
Look, teenagers, they want to rebel, and they want to fight.
And look, to some extent, that's good.
I want you to fight.
God put that fight in you.
But why don't you say you want to rebel?
Why don't you rebel against this world?
Let me tell you something.
Every single young person being educated by that secular world is the same.
They're all the same.
They're all headed for destruction.
They're all just accepting homosexuality.
They're all accepting being an effeminate little girl man.
Some of you young men need to stop trying to be like that,
wishing you could put on skinny jeans and say,
hey, I'm a fundamentalist.
I got a short haircut.
I put a belt on.
I walk like a man.
Stop being embarrassed.
Stop being ashamed.
Don't be ashamed of Jesus.
I realize we live in a world that is embarrassed of the word of God.
I realize we live in a world where today, today, pastors are getting up.
Supposed pastors getting up in supposed churches behind pulpits that don't exist,
and they're apologizing.
Well, the Bible says this about homosexuality.
The Bible says this about marriage.
The Bible says, you know a different quote.
Hey, you know what?
I'm not ashamed of the Bible.
It's the word of God.
And when our nation followed it, we were better off.
Quit trying to fit in with the world.
Quit trying to be like the world.
You keep succumbing to that water cooler and, well, you know,
I'm just going to laugh with the jokes because everybody else.
No, say, hey, that's not funny.
I'm not going to laugh at your filth.
I love my wife.
I love my children.
Yeah, I go to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night.
You should too.
Look at your life.
I'm just saying we need to get some fight in us.
Well, get up and stop trying to fit in with the world and say, you know what?
I love God.
I love Jesus.
I love the word of God.
I love my family.
I love my church family.
Yeah, I knock on doors.
So what?
Say it to my face.
I'm just saying stop being so ashamed.
For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God unto salvation.
I'm not ashamed.
You see Peter's denial.
Man, I know not.
I know not what thou sayeth.
Man, I am not.
He says, I know him not.
He says, I am not.
He says, I don't even know what you're talking about.
Trying to fit in with the world.
Go back to Luke 22.
We'll finish this thing out.
Luke 22, you say you're preaching like this on the vision offering.
We already took the offering.
You missed the nice sermon last week.
Luke 22, 61.
I think Luke 22 verses 61 and 62 are some of the most dramatic,
impactful, sad verses in the entire Bible.
You have Peter, who Jesus tried to warn and said,
Simon, Simon, Satan had desired to have you that he might sift you as weeds.
I'm ready.
Though all men should be offended, I shall never be offended.
And we find Peter with his false sense of confidence, falling afar off,
fellowship in the world, trying to fit in.
I know I'm not.
I know not the man.
I'm not.
I don't even know just, I know not what you're talking about.
The Bible says in Luke 22, 61, and the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.
Remember that Jesus is at a trial.
It's a mock trial.
It's not a real thing.
It's before the Jews, but he's on trial before the Jews, before Caiaphas.
He's in a court.
And the Bible seems to indicate, and we're not told,
but he is in a position where Peter can see Jesus and Jesus can see Peter.
And of course, Jesus is distracted dealing with this hearing
and these accusations against him, and Peter is for all,
sitting where he can see Jesus, but being with the world, denying Jesus.
And Jesus is there being tried, but the Bible tells us,
and the Bible indicates that after Peter denies Jesus once and twice and thrice,
that the Lord turns, because he is God.
The Lord turned and looked upon Peter,
and the Bible seems to indicate that some sort of eye contact was made.
Peter remembered the words of the Lord,
how he had said unto him,
before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And Peter went out and wept bitterly.
This is dramatic because of the fact that Jesus in a court physically looked at Peter,
and eye contact was made, and Peter looks down at Jesus or looks up at Jesus
or looks across to Jesus, and he makes eye contact,
and he realizes this is my Lord and Savior.
This is God in the flesh.
This is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.
He's here to take my sins.
He's here to give me salvation, and I have failed him.
And Peter went out and wept bitterly.
But let me tell you something.
This is not just for Peter.
Because Jesus was at a courtroom, and he makes eye contact with Peter,
and Peter's full shame and Peter's full failure is before Jesus.
But let me tell you something.
You and I have a date set in court as well,
and Jesus will be there, not as the accused but as the judge.
And you and I will look and make eye contact with our Savior,
and we will have the answer for what was done in our body.
And if we failed, and if we quit, and if we allowed our false sense of confidence,
and if we began to follow afar off, and if we began to fellowship with the wrong people,
and if we began to try to fit in with the world.
And I believe that on that day of the judgment seat of Christ, there will be much weeping.
They wept bitterly. You say, oh, in heaven there's no weeping.
That's not until after the great white throne that he wipes away the tears from their eyes.
You say, well, what can we do?
Go back to Luke 22. I just want to show you one verse that we didn't cover.
I want you to see it, and we'll be done. Verse 32.
Remember Peter, false sense of confidence?
He says to Jesus, verse 31, Jesus says,
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, it is he not desired to have you that he might sift you his wheat.
Verse 33, and he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into the prison and to death.
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the crock shall not crow this day before thou is thrice denied that thou knowest me.
But in verse 32, the Bible says this. Jesus says this,
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.
You know, the Bible says that Jesus is the great mediator.
He's sitting at the right hand of the Father, ever ceasing to mediate on our behalf.
The great intercessory prayer. Jesus says, But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.
That should encourage you, but here's the encouraging part.
And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Jesus, please understand the context. Jesus said,
Peter, be careful, Satan hath desired to have you that he might sift you his wheat.
Peter says, I'm ready, not me, Lord, though all should be offended in thee, I never would be offended.
And Jesus says, Okay, but when you're done, you can come back.
When thou art converted, strengthen your brethren.
Warn them. Let them know. I think that's why Peter wrote the words,
Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, Peter said, I know.
Walketh about, seeking whom he made devour.
See, the idea is that you can always come back. You can always come back to God.
We saw the story of Samson. One of my favorite little phrases in the book of Judges regarding the story of Samson,
Samson makes a mess of it. He makes a mess of his life. All of it gets destroyed.
You know, one of my favorite phrases in that story is when it says that this hair began to grow back.
You can always come back to God.
Maybe you're sitting here this morning, you're saying, I don't need the sermon. I'm good, Pastor. Right.
But when thou art converted, when you come back, because you can always come back,
strengthen thy brethren. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for the story of Peter.
Because really, it's the story of us.
And Lord, I pray you'd help us to take heed.
Maybe there are some people in this room that have they have got that self-confidence going.
That false self-confidence. Let them check that today.
Let them decide today. You know what? Let him that thinketh he standeth to take heed, lest he fall.
Maybe there are some people in this room who have begun to follow afar off.
They're just kind of slowly drifting away. Help them decide today, I'm going to get back to my first works.
I'm going to get back to my first love, I'm going to get back to my first works.
Maybe there are some here that have been spending too much time with the world,
standing in the counsel of the ungodly, sitting in the seat of the scornful.
There are some maybe that have been trying to fit in with the world. Help them not to be ashamed.
And Lord, when we fail, if we fail, help us always to remember that we can always come back.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
We're going to have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song.
Just want to remind you a couple of things.
First of all, of course, like every Sunday, we want to encourage you to invite someone with you
and bring someone with you to church next week.
And you say, I've been hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Well, here's how you can fix that. Get them in church and get them around the right crowd.
And I want to encourage you to be back tonight, 6 p.m., for the evening service.
Tonight we're going to be announcing the totals for the vision offerings, so it should be an exciting time.
We'd love for you to be here, of course, for that.
And if there's anything that we can do for you, please let us know.
Don't forget that Easter is right around the corner.
Be thinking about who you can invite, who you can bring to church with you.
We're going to be in the Gospel of Luke from now to Easter.
And on Easter Sunday, we'll be at the resurrection of Christ.
And it's going to be—we'll finish up the study. It'll be a great study.
Any time you open up the Word of God, it's good for all of us.
And I encourage you to be here, of course, tonight for the vision offering.
I do want to say thank you to all of you who gave, who volunteered, who stretched yourselves and sacrificed.
And we'll see tonight what the Lord has done and will do through us.
And of course, you can always give tonight as well.
You can always give this afternoon online, all that stuff.
So it's not over yet, but be ready to hear tonight where we're at.
If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know.
We'll have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song.
Turn to song 228.
228.
Sing it on the first.
I love to tell the story of God's wings again.
Like Jesus and his glory, like Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story because I love to sing.
It's as nice for me as lovely clouds can be.
I love to tell the story of me.
Like Jesus and his glory, like Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story of me.
Jesus and his glory, like Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story of me.
Amen.