To those chosen living as exiles, dispersed abroad
in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
chosen according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father, through the sanctifying work of the
Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with
the blood of Jesus Christ, may grace and peace
be multiplied to you. This is God's Word. So
as we jump into this kind of 12 -week series
here on 1 Peter, obviously we begin with the
question, where to begin? And I, for one, say
we begin at the beginning. So let's do that.
This week and next week, we're going to be really
setting up our time in 1 Peter by dwelling on
this greeting section, this verse 1 and 2. And
where does that greeting section begin? Well,
it begins with Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
And there are few characters in the Bible that
give more hope to the flawed, the foolish, and
the faithless as Peter does. Amen? He's zealous.
He loves Jesus, but sometimes he speaks before
he thinks. Anyone out there? Yeah? The dude has
major impulse control issues. Like, he just goes,
right? Sometimes he's all in, and then he's all
out, and then he's all in again, right? Peter's
life is not a story of impressive faith, but
it's really a story of amazing grace. Peter was
not born a smooth, polished rock, but he was
made into one by the relentless, redeeming love
of God. And that's the power of the gospel for
us. It means, or it meets us in our failures
and it reshapes us. How many of you guys have
been reshaped by the gospel? The gospel has changed
you. You're not the person you used to be. Maybe
for some of you, the rough edges have been worn
off a little bit. Amen? Hallelujah? Wives? Husbands?
Yeah. It meets us there in our failures. It reshapes
us. But it not only reshapes us, it reshapes
us for faithful endurance. And that's one of
the themes that we're going to see as we look
at the book of 1 Peter is faithful endurance
is a part of the faith. It's not a bug. It's
a feature. And the letters, 1 and 2 Peter, we'll
do a little background here, but they're what's
called circular letters. Now, a circular letter
would be sent out to a region of churches. You
heard the list of them there at the beginning.
A region of churches, and one church would read
it aloud in their weekly gathering, and then
they would wrap it up, and they would send it
off with a church member or a courier on down
the road to the next church. And maybe before
they sent it on its way, they'd get a church
member or a scribe to come in and help them copy
that letter so they had a copy before they sent
that copy, the original copy, on down the road.
And so 1 and 2 Peter are just that. They're to
be circulated among the churches in a region.
for their benefit. And the churches particularly
that are listed, that Peter lists at the beginning,
well, these are likely ones that he had a hand
in establishing. He helped plant these churches.
Peter was like a church planting pastor going
out and helping establish churches in areas.
So usually it would happen where they'd preach
the gospel, right? People would get saved or
they would meet some people and they would start
to meet together in a house and then they would
gather more and more people and sometimes they'd
move from a house to like a theater or to a place
that they could rent. very similar to what we're
doing here today, meeting in a building as the
church. And so Peter also would establish these
churches, and the ones listed here in this region
are likely ones that he had a hand in birthing.
He loved them, he cared deeply for them. Now
this letter, 1 Peter and 2 Peter, are both written
from Rome in around the 60s AD or so. And it's
only a couple of years before Peter is ultimately
put to death for his faith. Peter is going to
ultimately follow the Lord to his death by crucifixion,
although Peter is going to request that he is
crucified upside down as a sign of his unworthiness
to die in the same way that his Lord and Savior
died. If you've been following this whole Pope
thing, the Catholic Church that's going on with
the death of the Pope and the transition, you'll
probably have noticed, if you've seen in the
images, a lot of people wearing gowns and stuff
that have an upside -down cross. Well, that's
Peter's cross. That's Peter's cross, and according
to the Catholic tradition, the Pope is in a long
succession of people all the way back to Peter.
So Peter laid his hands on someone and on down
to the current pope, and therefore he's in the
line of Peter, and that's why you would see the
upside down. Some people are saying, oh, it's
witchcraft, it's evil. No, it's the upside down
cross. It's Peter's cross. He died on the upside
down cross. But we're going to backtrack a little
bit, and we're going to... today spend our time
digging into the life and the past of Peter as
he walked with Jesus. And we're hopefully gonna
see a few scenes from his life and how they impacted
the letter that he would ultimately send at the
end of his life that we call 1 Peter. Some of
the events, the scenes of his life will ultimately
become an encouragement for the brothers and
sisters. So if you're taking notes, the first
thing I'll have you write down is from sinking
to standing. From sinking to standing. And by
the way, if you don't have the Church Center
app, the Church Center app is awesome because
you can find the message today and you can take
notes right there and save it and send it to
you. So I highly recommend grabbing that app.
It's a great resource. Also, you can sign up
for any upcoming events through that app. But
from sinking to standing. In Matthew 14, Jesus
sends his disciples in a boat on ahead of him
across the Sea of Galilee. And Jesus goes up
to the top of a mountain, and he's gonna spend
well into the night praying on top of this mountain.
Well, the disciples, they get out onto the water
on this boat, and one of those crazy Galilean
storms hits. And there's wind, and there's waves,
and the boat is battered and tossed about. And
right in the middle of all of this that's going
on, in the middle of the night, the disciples,
they catch sight of a figure. And this figure
is walking on the water out to them. And a couple
of disciples, man, they scream as probably most
of us, right? It's a ghost, oh my gosh, right?
Scaredy pants, right? Some of them dribble a
little bit in their shorts, you know. It's a
ghost. What is this? And it turns out that this
figure is who? Jesus. Jesus is out for a stroll
on the waters late at night in the middle of
a storm. And Jesus says to the disciples, hey,
be of courage or act like men. It's me, y 'all.
Don't be afraid. And here into this scene, in
this turmoil, in this scary moment, enters Peter,
right? He's on the boat with the other disciples.
But unlike the other disciples who are screaming,
it's a ghost, here's Peter. And remember, he's
that out front bold guy, right? Not always thinking
before he's acting, but zealous. And he says
to Jesus, if it's you, Jesus, Command me to come
out and let me do a little prance on the water
with you. Let me get out there with you and have
a good time, right? And what does Jesus say to
Peter? Well, Jesus says, come on. Get on out
here. Let's go. Do a little up on the toe business
out here on the water. And it says that climbing
out of the boat, Peter started walking on the
water and came toward Jesus. He's doing it. He's
out on the water. He's walking like Jesus is
walking on the water. But verse 30 says, but
when he saw the strength of the wind, he was
afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out,
Lord, save me. Now, you have to give it to him,
right? I haven't encountered too many ghosts
in my life. But I wonder if Peter ever stopped
to think that maybe the ghost would also invite
him out onto the water, just like Jesus did.
You know, he starts by, if it's you, invite me
out. But I'm thinking, I think the ghost might
say, come on out too, right? Different results,
but nonetheless. But he gets out, and he actually
walks on the water. And Jesus said, come. And
he said, I believe. And look, I'm out here on
the water. But then he takes his eyes. off of
Jesus. And bad things happen when we take our
eyes off of Jesus. Peter is a disciple of Jesus.
And disciples don't just listen to the words
of their master. They imitate their life and
faith. And once Jesus tells Peter, come, walking
on water is as simple as trusting the one who's
performed countless miracles before. Just trusting
in his strength, trusting in his power. But then
Peter, Gets his eyes off of Jesus and he sees
the strength of the wind and looks at the situation
he's gotten into rather than the power of God
to sustain him through it. Have you ever experienced
that? Where you step out in faith and obedience,
you're like, all right, Lord, I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna follow you. I'm gonna do this for you.
But before long, some big, bad, scary thing comes.
It shows up, and the desire and the will to obey
Jesus suddenly goes out the window and is usurped
by your fears. What ifs? Well, that happened
to Peter. And for Peter, it was a good time to
cry out to the Lord, wasn't it? Well. What's
this story all about? While Jesus is disappointed
with Peter's inadequate faith, he says, why you
have little faith? Why did you just believe?
Peter has acted in a greater faith than any of
the other disciples, hasn't he? And what we look
at as kind of a misdirected zeal or a kind of
ready, shoot, aim mentality is actually helping
Peter to learn what faith actually looks like.
As one commentator put it, faith cannot be worked
out by formulas or emotion, but it grows through
various tests as we continue to trust our Lord
and he continues to teach us. Faith is not some
formula or some emotion we feel, but it's something
that through testing is developed in us. and
strengthened in us and grows. It's a muscle,
right? If you work out, anyone work out? Not
it, no. You work out, you get sore, you find
your limits, you push your limits, right? Faith
is like a muscle. And Peter would continue to
grow in that faith. And at the end of his life,
he would write to the believers in 1 Peter 1,
beginning in verse 3, and he would write to them
and say, Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy,
he has given us new birth. into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
You are being guarded by God's power through
faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed
in the last time. You rejoice in this. even though
now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer
grief in various trials, so that the proven character
of your faith, more valuable than gold, which
though is perishable, is refined by fire, may
result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation
of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him,
you love him. And though not seeing him now,
you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible
joy. and glorious joy because you are receiving
the goal of your faith, the salvation of your
souls. Just like a midnight storm hit the boat
that I was in, various trials will come on you.
Various trials will come on you, my friends.
And when I kept my eyes fixed on Jesus, when
I fixed my trust on Jesus, I walked on water.
And if you trust and treasure Jesus, he will
guard. you by God's power from the trials and
afflictions. They may test you, but they will
not defeat you. Peter's walk was a test, and
his fear exposed the weakness in his trust in
the power of who Jesus was. Peter says that the
trials are so helpful. Looking back at his life,
Peter, a man of great trials. The trials were
so helpful because they test the proven genuineness
of our faith, which is more precious than gold.
I had a trial once. My wife and I stopped over
in Japan on our way back from Guam after doing
a ministry trip to Guam. And while we were there,
my wife got it in her head that we were going
to go on something called the Mishima Skywalk,
which is a bridge that has an invisible bottom.
and you're hundreds of feet in the air, all I
know is that we could see the tops of the trees
way down there, and they were big pine trees.
Now, I'm deathly afraid of heights. If you brought
a ladder out here, I might make it up to the
second step before I started trembling, and the
third step, I'd just be a puddle of sweat, right?
But we get out there, and I'm holding on to my
little wife, and I'm shaking in my boots. She's
like, just keep looking forward. Don't look down.
Don't look over here. Just keep looking forward.
And we made it across, although I was trembling
the whole time as we walked across this bridge.
The thing about the bridge that's interesting
is... What was keeping me up as I walked over
that bridge was not my bravery. As I walked across
the bridge, what was keeping me up was not, you
know, my courage, was it? What was keeping me
up was the strength of the bridge. That's what
was keeping me up. It had nothing to do with
how courageous I was as I walked across it or
how little courage that I had. It was the strength
of the bridge that would determine whether I
would get from here to there without falling
to the bottom of the forest floor. Praise God
I'm not on that bridge right now. I'm having
like triggers right now. The stage is kind of
high. But Peter cries out to Jesus, Lord, save
me, and is lifted up. And Peter tells his churches
later on to cling to Christ, who is our living
hope, through the resurrection, and we too will
be lifted up with Christ when Christ is revealed.
A couple of things to think about in relation
to this story. The first one is short prayers
work when you're sinking. Short prayers work.
Sometimes the most effective prayers that I've
ever had, the most intimate moments I've had
with the Lord is when I said, help! And I knew
where I was directing that to, and he did too.
And he helped. He brought comfort. He gave me
peace. He at least gave me perspective to understand
what I was going through and how it might be
for my good. Or he helped me to endure to the
end without giving up. Whatever it is, help was
a pretty good prayer. And sometimes we think,
oh, I don't. pray very well. Can you say help?
Can you say, Lord, save me? Because sometimes
that's the best prayer there is. In trials, don't
fixate on your fear, but remember the voice of
the one who calls you to come. Remember his power
and his knowledge and his presence. But more
than that, go a step further. This is something
that we oftentimes seek when we're in the middle
of it, when we're in the middle of suffering.
We oftentimes seek comfort. Lord, comfort me.
Peter and the disciples were in the middle of
it, on the boat, in the middle of a storm, raging
all around them. And what did Peter say? He didn't
say, Lord, tell me it'll be all okay and give
me a pillow and something that I'm gonna suck
my thumb over here in the corner and it's all
gonna be okay. Pet me and tell me I'll be fine,
Lord. He didn't say that, did he? What did he
say? He said, command me and I'll come out to
you. He said, tell me what I'm supposed to do
in this storm. Tell me how I can obey in this
storm. Show me how I can be faithful in this
storm. Tell me what to do. Don't just look for
comfort. Look for his command and then obey it.
The gospel, the good news of Jesus gives you
an anchor in the storm. Because your identity
is not secured by your bravery or your courage,
but by the one who can walk on water. You think
about that bridge, it wasn't my bravery that
kept me from falling to the forest floor, was
it? It was the strength of the bridge. And I
logically knew that it would hold me even if
my insides all wanted out of me at the moment.
The gospel points us to the bridge that is Jesus.
He is why I will not fail. Not my own courage
or bravery. He is why I will not fail. Number
two, from sword to submission. Here's another
story from Peter's life that helps to kind of
inform who he was and who he became, ultimately
writing 1 Peter. In Matthew chapter 16, as Jesus
and his disciples are preparing to make the final
journey to Jerusalem before he's arrested and
crucified, Jesus kind of lets his guys, his boys
in on a secret. Here's the secret. When we get
there, I'm gonna suffer. I'm going to be killed.
And yeah, on the third day, I'm also gonna rise
from the dead. He lets the guys know. This is
what's coming. He lets the disciples know, here's
why we're heading to Jerusalem. And Peter, always
ready, right? Jumps right in and says, oh no,
this will not happen to you. I got your back,
Jesus. I'll never let that happen to you. And
you guys know what Jesus' response is? Any of
you remember? Get behind me, Satan. Or another
way, like, get out of the way, Satan. You are
a hindrance to me because you're not thinking
about God's concerns but human concerns. And
so I'm thinking, maybe it's just me, but the
day that Jesus calls you Satan is probably a
pretty memorable day, right? Maybe it's a day
for learning and growing and changing, right?
But for Peter, nah. He's gonna need to circle
the wilderness a couple more times before he
learns his lesson. Why? Because fast forward
till they get into the Garden of Gethsemane in
Jerusalem. They're in Jerusalem where Jesus said
they had to go and he was going to be, you know,
he was going to suffer and he was going to be
killed and he was going to raise from the dead.
They're in Jerusalem in the garden. Jesus is
being arrested. Judas is there. He's betraying
Jesus. He's got a company of temple guards. When
they show up, This would be that moment where
Peter remembers the words of Jesus, remembers
his rebuke, calling him Satan, and maybe Peter
just goes, you know, I'm gonna sit this one out
and just pray for Jesus right now. But not Peter.
No, Peter draws his sword and cuts off the ear
of the high priest's servant, a guy named Malchus.
Cuts it off. And Jesus turns to Peter and is
like, put your sword away. Am I not to drink
the cup the Father has given me? And in this
little scene in Peter's life, Peter wants to
fight his way out of the garden. He believes
that human might and human power will bring the
kingdom of God to bear. He believes the kingdom
and the king needs bodyguards. But Jesus models
for him a different way. Jesus brings the kingdom.
through obedient submission to the Father, even
if that means submitting to death. The kingdom
of God never advances by the blade of human strength,
but by the cup of obedient surrender. In the
end, Peter learns that submission, even to suffering,
is the way to glory. He witnesses Jesus go through
it, and only then could he understand and follow
Jesus himself. The way of Jesus is the way of
the cross. And decades later, Peter will write
to the churches and tell them to submit yourself
for the Lord's sake to every governing official,
every human authority, even the bad ones. He
will tell the people of God to take the posture
of obedience and submission even under horrible
authorities like the emperor or Caesar of Rome.
Peter will remind them that when Jesus was abused
and suffered, he did not insult in return. but
entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
This is how they should respond to their own
trials and suffering. Why do I think 1 Peter
is an important book for us today? I think because
we have moved out of a time in our lives when
Christianity is either acceptable or at least
it's neutral. And we are moving now into a time,
sociologists, Guys who look at this have all
said, we are now moving into a time where we
are going to experience Christianity, A, as a
minority, but beyond that, from a negative worldview,
a negative view of Christianity. One time it
was positive. We went through a season where
it was neutral. one among many, and we're going
to enter into a time where it is negative. To
be a Christian is a bad thing. And some of you,
like all of us, are going to be inclined to pull
the sword out and lop the ear off. And we're
going to think, man, if we just go out and we
be a warrior, we start slicing and dicing, we
can bring the kingdom of God to bear. But Peter
had to learn through his own experience that
that wasn't the way. The way of Jesus is the
way of the cross. The way of Jesus is the way
of suffering. And what servant will be greater
than their master? You? Then why wouldn't you
expect to suffer in the same way he did? He reminds
the people in 1 Peter. That Jesus was abused
and he suffered, but he didn't throw insults
in return. He entrusted himself to the one who
judges justly. In other words, he said, he let
God say, vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. It's
not mine. This is how they should respond when
their own trials and sufferings come, like Jesus.
And you know, the cross at a human level, the
cross is the way of shame. It's the way of pain.
And it's the way that looks like defeat. It looks
like someone else won. When Jesus is hanging
on the cross, bleeding and dying, it looks like
someone else won. And that means in our life,
when we encounter suffering and trial, it's going
to look like someone else won, and that's okay.
It was okay for Jesus. Is it okay for you? It's
gonna look like everyone else is winning. It's
gonna look like a way of shame. It's gonna look
like a way of pain and a way of defeat. And Peter
would write to the folks in the churches in 1
Peter that just like the cross, the cross was
actually the way to glory. The cross was actually
the way of glory, and Peter would tell the folks
there in these churches in this region that the
fiery ordeals and trials that they're encountering,
that they're suffering, these will all lead to
your glory as well. The real rescue for sinners
comes when Jesus is wounded, not Malchus. Peter's
act of cutting off Malchus' ear. did not bring
about the kingdom. But when Jesus was wounded,
Peter says in 1 Peter 2 .24, by his wounds, you
are healed. Peter's arrogance was humbled when
Jesus turned to him and said, put your sword
away. I mean, can you imagine being his right
-hand man, his trusted sidekick, and you're gonna
defend him, you're gonna go, go down with him,
you draw your sword and you take a whack, and
then your leader looks at you and say, no. Not
that. Not that way. Peter's arrogance is humbled.
And Peter reminds the churches later, decades
later, that they too will overcome when they
humble themselves under the mighty hand of God.
And so when you're wronged or oppressed, don't
fight like the world. Follow Jesus' way of patient
endurance and surrender. Remember also, for some
of us in this room, that zeal without surrender
to the kingdom of God can hurt bystanders. So
check your tweets and your posts before you chop
off someone's ear in the name of Christ. Amen?
Peter never forgot the night Jesus traded the
sword for the cup and turned apparent defeat
into the greatest victory. The gospel flips power
upside down. The sword says, win at all costs.
And Jesus says, lose to win. Lose to win. The
gospel's advance is from wounds absorbed, not
wounds inflicted. You might say, it's cup now,
crown later. Number three. The final story we'll
look at. from Peter's life that kind of informed
him as the writer of 1 Peter. Number three, write
down from failure to faithfulness. This is our
final one. So flashback, just before Peter lops
off the ear, Malchus' ear, Jesus is praying in
the garden and Peter is nearby as one of his
inside circle of guys. He's nearby and Jesus,
He has something special to tell Peter. He wants
to tell Peter something special before he goes
to the cross. And here's what he tells Peter.
He says, Satan wants to test you. Satan wants
to test you, so he asked me for permission, and
I said yes. Satan wants to test you. He asked
me for permission. I said yes, but I want you
to know, Peter, that I'm praying for you. Jesus
is praying for Peter. I'm praying for you that
your faith won't fail and when it's all said
and done, that you will be strength or you will
strengthen the other guys, the other disciples,
because they're all gonna bail on me too. I need
you to be a leader. I need you to lead them and
to shepherd them in their moment or their hour
of need. And Peter, being the guy he is, he says,
great Lord, thank you, awesome, right? No, what
does Peter say? He says, Lord, I'm ready to go
with you both to prison and to death. A couple
things, too, that you'd probably notice. Satan
has no right here. He has to ask Jesus if he
can test Peter. Why? Because Jesus is Lord over
spiritual powers. They all submit to him, even
the devil. But it also follows that the trials
and testings that come to you and I as God's
people are only the trials and testings that
God allows. And that should humble us. That should
also give us a great deal of confidence in our
God to protect us and walk through it with the
trials since he's there with us. But Peter's
like, you know what, Jesus, I got you. You're
my ride or die. I'm with you. I'm all in. And
Jesus is like, that's really cute, Pete. But
before the rooster crows three times, you are
going to deny even knowing me. And so Peter chops
off the dude's ear, right? And by the way, Jesus
glues that thing back on, like pop right back
on the ears. He did it in the dark too, so hopefully
he got it straight. It's like, okay, that's good
enough. They arrest Jesus, they take him in for
questioning. Peter goes to the palace where they've
taken Jesus. Some servant girl is there and she
sees him and they're like, hey, aren't you one
of that man's disciples? You are, aren't you?
And Peter's like, no, I'm not. I'm not associated
with him. And then next he's warming his hands
by a fire and a group of servants and officials,
they ask him the same question and he's like,
nope, not me. And then one of the high priest's
servants comes and sees him and says, wait. Didn't
I see you with Jesus? I'm pretty sure I saw you.
And you really have to be one of them because
I can tell by your Galilean accent that you're
not from around these parts. And here's what
Matthew's account says that Peter did on this
third shot here. Here's what he said. Peter started
to curse and to swear with an oath, I don't know
the man. And immediately, a rooster crowed. And
Peter remembered the words of Jesus. Before the
rooster crows, you will deny me three times.
And so Peter went outside, it says, to those
dark streets of Jerusalem, and he wept bitterly.
What a guy. How much is he like you and I, though?
Fearful, hot. White hot with zeal, and then the
next moment, terrified, scared. He's in the streets.
Jesus is condemned to die. Jesus is stripped
and beaten. Jesus is mocked and despised. Jesus
is crucified, his hands and feet nailed to the
cross. Jesus gives up his spirit and dies. And
Peter, Peter is hiding with the other disciples
with nothing but memories and regret. It says
that only John, is one of the 12 that witnessed
the crucifixion along with his mother and some
other ladies who are there. But Jesus, on the
third day, he rises from the dead, and the women
report an empty tomb. And as soon as Peter hears
about an empty tomb, which Jesus told him about
before, as soon as he hears about the empty tomb,
he races to see it for himself. But it says that
when he got there, all he saw was the linen cloth
left, and Peter went away wondering to himself
what had happened. Fast forward and Peter had
a couple of his disciples and they had gone back
to their old way of life. They'd gone back fishing.
They went out to catch one night and they got
nothing. And as they're approaching the banks,
they're about a football's field away, a length
away from the bank. They see the silhouette of
a man. They can't recognize who he is. And he
says, hey, did you catch anything? And they're
like, no, we caught nothing. And he's like, well,
why don't you try the right side of the boat?
And they're like, hey, let's go for it. One last
shot. They throw the nets over and they collect
so many fish they can't even get them on board.
And instantly, John, the disciple John goes.
That's gotta be the Lord. Like, this is a miracle.
That's gotta be the Lord. And Peter, in his zeal,
he wraps his loincloth around him and he hops
in the water, swims for about a football -length
field to Jesus on the banks to be with him. Peter,
who has lived with the shame of abandoning Jesus,
returning to his old way of life and failing
to lead and shepherd his brothers, the fellow
disciples, now faces Jesus face to face again.
And Jesus had already told Peter before that
he was going to be the rock and he would lead
the church once Jesus was gone and he'd be the
first among equals among the disciples. But none
of that is going to happen if Peter is paralyzed
with shame and failure. And Jesus knows that
and so Jesus has a little one -on -one time with
Peter on the banks. It says they ate breakfast
together and then Jesus asked Peter, Simon, son
of John, Do you love me more than these? Yes,
Lord, he said to him. You know that I love you.
Feed my lambs, he told him. A second time, Jesus
asked him, Simon, son of John, do you love me?
Yes, Lord, he said to him. You know that I love
you. Shepherd my sheep, he told him. He asked
him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you
love me? Peter was grieved that he asked him
the third time, do you love me? He said, Lord,
you know everything. You know that I love you.
Feed my sheep, Jesus said. Three times denied.
Three times restored. Three times for what purpose,
though? through the loving grace of Jesus, not
just restored, not just forgiven, but given the
ministry of shepherding. Not just said, hey,
you're good, but I'm gonna put you on the sideline,
you're out, you failed too big. I got no use
for you anymore in my kingdom. But he said three
times, feed my sheep, shepherd my sheep, love
my sheep. God's grace is bigger than your worst
moments. Amen? Hallelujah? Amen? Is this a room
full of saved folks? God's grace is bigger than
your worst moments. failure is not the end of
the story. It doesn't have to be. At the end
of his life, Peter will write in 1 Peter to the
elders of the churches that he's writing to the
same words that Jesus spoke to him on the banks
of that river, that sea, and he'll tell them
to shepherd God's flock among you. not overseeing
out of compulsion, but willingly as God would
have you, not out of greed for money, but eagerly,
not lording it over those entrusted to you, but
being examples to the flock. And then he gives
this promise, and he says, when the chief shepherd
appears, when Jesus appears, you will receive
the unfading crown of glory. Peter's restoration
was to shepherd, to lead the church. to lead
in a certain way, he learned one of the greatest
qualities of redemptive leadership, and that
is humility. Jesus earlier had told his disciples,
you know, the Gentiles, well, this is how they
lead. They lorded over everyone. Hey, look at
me. I've got power and prestige. I've got position.
But not so you. If any of you wants to be greatest,
You must become the servant of all. The kind
of leadership, the redemptive leadership is a
humble servant leader. And it took Peter running
through the ringer, going through trial and testing
time and time again for God to make in him, to
refine in him the character that he needed in
order to lead the church. To smooth out the rough
edges. that would get in the way and ultimately
lead to his failure. He had to go through all
kinds of trial. Could you imagine being Peter
on those days when Jesus was in the tomb? The
agony. As soon as they brought Jesus down from
the cross, it was the Sabbath. That means you
couldn't even travel that far. You were locked
in your house. He was probably in deep grief
and mourning, but all of that was to test and
prove the quality of his faith and to grow it
increasingly. No matter your past, Jesus restores
failures and calls them to lead with humility.
Peter's greatest failure became the stage for
his greatest calling. Why? Because grace restores
with purpose. Jesus doesn't just forgive Peter,
he restores him. And Peter learns the quality
of true leadership. And so in conclusion, I'll
just say this. Peter, his name means rock. But
he wasn't always a smooth rock. But by golly,
he was being shaped into one, wasn't he? Peter's
story shows us that suffering is not a detour
in the Christian life. It's part of the design.
The gospel doesn't promise a life free from fire,
but one where the fire refines rather than consumes.
God doesn't just use strong people either. He
strengthens people so that they're useful. And
Peter, once broken and afraid, is now riding
to churches to embolden them because of the grace
that has made him steady. Will you pray with
me? Father, we thank you for the illustration
that we get from your word. for Peter and his
life, and we thank you, Lord, for what it means,
Lord, the hope and promise for us, for how you
might use us and for some of us who might feel
like we are beyond repair or beyond your ability
to redeem and restore and refine. I pray, Lord,
that you would show us even through these stories
that you have a plan and purpose and you can
accomplish that, but it is not going to be without
trial or suffering. But it most certainly will
include that to refine us, to smooth out the
rough edges.