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I have a very different presentation for you this morning. Rather than the typical kind of verse-by-verse exposition, we're going to be looking at a number of passages of Scripture under the heading "The Choosing of the 12: Part 2 - Simon Peter." We are going to do basically an examination of what God did in his life, and you will see many parallels in your life. So we're going to be in Luke chapter six to begin with. Luke chapter six let's begin with verse 12, but we're going to focus on just the phrase at the first part of verse 14, Luke six and verse 12.

"It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

"And when day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose 12 of them, whom He also named as apostles:

"Simon, whom He also named Peter."

This is really a fascinating statement: "Simon, whom He also named Peter." And you will soon understand why. But may I remind you that the apostleship was an office ordained by God that included a divinely instituted commission, as well as the spiritual authority to act on behalf of God to fulfill that commission; the apostles were the men that literally laid the foundation of the church. They were men that proclaimed after having received direct revelation from God. And as we look at Scripture, we see that they had to meet at least three qualifications. First of all, they were chosen directly by Jesus Christ. Secondly, they were able to perform miracles as an apostle, being authenticated by the miraculous signs and wonders and mighty works, as we read in Second Corinthians 12:12, and finally, with their own eyes, they had to be men who witnessed the resurrected Christ.

Now, bear in mind, in this section in Luke's gospel, it is time for Jesus to choose the 12. So, having set aside the independent use of his divine attributes and relying solely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to lead him to make the right decision, he goes up to a mountain, and he prays all night long - a very, very important decision. He knew that these men were going to be called to suffer with him and eventually die for the cause of the gospel. He knew he would need to train them and empower them and love them. So he prayed fervently for wisdom to select the right men, and so we see the first in the group that he selected is Simon, whom he also named Peter. Now bear in mind, when rightly understood, that phrase "Simon, whom he also named Peter," speaks volumes about the man and the sanctifying work of God necessary to mold him into the leader that he would become.

Let me give you some historical background before we flesh that out a bit. Simon was a very common name in Israel. We see a number of people named Simon in the scriptures, and it was Peter's birth name, Simon Barjona which means "son of John," as we read in Matthew 16:17. And I find it really interesting in John chapter one and verse 42, there is a description of the first encounter that Jesus had with John when he first met him. When Peter's brother Andrew brought Jesus to him, remember Andrew was saying, "We have found the Messiah." And in John 1:42 we read this: "He," referring to Andrew, "brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas,' (which is translated Peter). Now, Cephas is the Aramaic word for rock, which, as John translated for his Gentile readers, is rendered Peter in Greek, and so essentially this is a nickname. What a way to start out a relationship! "Oh, you're Simon's, the son of John, you shall be called Cephas, which is translated Peter." Don't you know he was kind of questioning? Well, that's an interesting way to meet this man that's supposed to be the Messiah.

But what's fascinating is that the Spirit of God gave Jesus the omniscient insight into who Peter was and what he would become by the power of his sanctifying grace. He was a Simon, and eventually he would become a rock. And as we see from Scripture, without getting into great detail, we see that that Simon was by nature a kind-hearted man. He was a hard-working fisherman. He was married. We know that even his wife later on went with him in his ministry duties. But he was also impetuous. He was impulsive. He was brash. He was at times undependable. He was vacillating. His moods would swing from one end to the other very quickly. He was, as we would say in our vernacular, especially those of us who shoot a lot, he was a "ready fire aim kind of guy." Or another way of putting it, shoot first, ask questions later. That was Peter; and as we witnessed in Peter's account with a cohort of Roman soldiers, a cohort like 600 soldiers, remember, along with the Jewish leaders, they come to to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane. And we read in Luke 22, beginning in verse 47, Judas,

"...approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, 'Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?'

"Those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, 'Lord, shall we strike with a sword?'"

By the way, it's interesting, they were armed. They had the Second Amendment back then, and one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Of course, we know that that was Peter, and as we all reflect, he was probably going for his head, and the guy ducked, and so he hit the ear. And isn't it great? In the text, we read that that Jesus touched the ear, and it was healed. I mean that would have been enough right there for most of the guys that saw that to turn and walk the other direction. That wasn't one of his finer moments, but you might say Simon was like that double-minded man that is unstable in all of his ways, right (James 1:8)? By the way, a double-minded man is essentially referring to a man that is is trying to serve two gods, and for Peter, it was to try to serve the one true God, but also serve himself, and when things get tough or confusing for that type of a person, they end up relying on their own resources rather than God's.

Now Jesus knew all of this, but he also knew the power of sanctifying grace, which would change Simon, his birth name that would reflect his unregenerate self to Peter, the rock of righteousness that he would become.

Now, let me explain this a bit. The New Testament record applies the name Simon to describe him apart from any spiritual sense - you might say in a secular sense - for example, Luke speaks of quote "Simon's house" in Luke 4:38, or when describing his mother-in-law, he says "Simon's wife's mother." And in Luke five and verse three, again when describing quote "one of the boats, which was Simon's," or when describing James and John as quote "partners with Simon in Luke five and verse 10. But what we will also see is that when Simon was acting the fool, when he was manifesting his unredeemed nature, Jesus and the gospel writers would also call him Simon rather than Peter. Luke five, beginning of verse three,

"And Jesus got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.

"When he had finished speaking, He said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.'

"Simon answered and said, 'Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing...."

Let me pause here. In other words, what he's saying in his knee-jerk response is, you know, "This guy's a carpenter from Nazareth. He doesn't understand fishing. You know, I mean, after all, we fished this area all night. I mean, we've had no luck, and it's really hard to rig these nets and these boats. It's in the middle of the day now where it's time to mend the nets and clean the nets. We're tired. We're hungry, and to go to all of that work and to do that again when we know there's no fish there..." I mean that's what he's thinking as Simon, right? "Master, we've worked hard all night and caught nothing," but then notice what it goes on to say, "but I will do as You say and let down the nets." This passage brings conviction to me and probably does to you too. I mean, how many times have I known what God would have me do? But you know, my plan's a little bit better. I've got a little better way. I think this will, you know, probably work best. "There's a way that which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death," right? Proverbs 14:12.

So at first Simon balks at the word and the will of the Lord, but then he yields. Luke five beginning verse six goes on to say,

"When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; "

so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And when they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink."

And then it goes on to say, "But when Simon Peter saw that..." by the way, it's interesting to note here, the inspired Luke adds his new name Simon Peter, because now we see a little different element here in Simon.

"But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!

"'For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;"

I remember, as a little boy, when my mom and dad would call me, often they would say, "David, come here," or my dad typically would say, "Son, come here." But I remember, especially with my mother, if she said, "David Alvin, come here," I knew I had committed at least a misdemeanor. You know, there's going to be a fine because of that added name, and if she used all three names-"David Alvin Harrell, come here." I mean, that's a felony. It's solitary confinement. You get the idea, and so you see this interplay of names here. And you will recall, for example, in another scenario, in Luke 22, we can see Simon's fallenness in his participation in that context and in the dispute with the other disciples about who's to be regarded as the greatest. And in that context, in Luke 22, beginning in verse 31. Notice what Jesus said,

"'Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat;

and I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail...'"

He didn't say, "Peter, Peter." He said, "Simon, Simon." And interestingly enough, a few hours later, Satan, remember, assaulted him after receiving the Lord's permission in that hour of testing, and he would verbally deny the Lord multiple times. By the way, aren't you thankful for a great high priest that continually intercedes on our behalf, that our faith will not fail. And aren't you thankful for a great Shepherd who is faithful to lead us and protect us and to patiently but firmly change us? You might say from a Simon to a Peter. Well, you recall later, Peter, along with the others, fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane after Jesus warned them to keep watching and praying. Mark 14:37, "And He came and found them sleeping and said to Peter, 'Simon, are you asleep?'" He called him Simon because he needed to be admonished here. The text doesn't say this - this is purely conjecture on my part, but I think it's tenable -- I would imagine Peter always winced when he heard Jesus call him Simon. It's like, oh, I wish he wouldn't call me that, but I deserve that. "'Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation.'" The temptation there, referring to spiritual lethargy that is typical of all of us, and indifference and resistance to the will of God, and he says, "'The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.'"

By the way, let's don't overlook the application here. The proclivity of our flesh is to always choose the easy path that avoids doing the will of the Father, because somehow, in our flesh, we think our way is best, and that we really don't need to to rely upon divine power. Because after all, I am who I am. What a lesson we need to learn here, to take seriously our need to stay spiritually and physically alert, because our spirit may be willing, but our flesh is weak. Beloved, we have an enemy within and without. Within we have our unredeemed fallen flesh, and without we have Satan, and both are formidable foes beyond anything that we can imagine.

By the way, Peter learned that lesson very well later on in First Peter five, and beginning in verse eight, he said this: "Be of sober spirit." Doesn't say it, but I'm sure he's thinking in his mind, because I remember the time when I wasn't be of sober spirit, be on the alert, and here's why: "Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him firm in your faith." My, haven't we all had to learn things the hard way. Another scenario where we see the power of sanctifying grace in his life after the resurrection. You remember the angel of the Lord said to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in Matthew 28:7, "Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you." And they did that. But evidently, was taking a little too long. Simon is getting a little discouraged. He's getting tired of waiting, decided, man, I'm just going to go back to my fishing career.

So in John 21 verse three, we read "Simon Peter said to them..." by the way, let me pause here for a moment. It's interesting if you read John, he will often refer to him as Simon Peter, because John was his best friend, his fishing associate, he knew him best. He knew both sides of him. So he says, "Simon Peter said to them, 'I'm going fishing.' They said to him, 'We will also come with you.' They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing." By the way, when he says, 'I'm going fishing," it's not like we would do and hitch the boat up to the truck and run it down and put it in the launch and you know go fish. I mean, it was a big ordeal to get these boats rigged and get them out there, put out the nets. He was basically saying, "I'm going to back to my old career here." You remember then in the story, at daybreak they saw a man on the beach. They didn't know who it was, but it was Jesus. And Jesus said to them, "'Children, you do not have any fish, do you?'" And of course, the response is, "No." How do you know? So, what's your point? Whoever you are. And then Jesus said, "'Cast your net on the other side." Okay, so you remember the story? They did that. They weren't able to haul in the great number of fish. Peter realizes it's Jesus. Remember, he strips off his outer garment. He jumps into the sea. He swims 100 yards to shore; the others bring in the net full of fish. And as we read that scenario, Jesus already has a fire going. The text says he "already had a charcoal fire already laid out, and fish placed on it, and bread." Breakfast is ready. Then he tells them, "'Bring some of your fish.'" Come here, guys. Come have breakfast. Even though I told you to wait for me, and you guys didn't obey, come on, I love you, come here, let's have breakfast.

John 21:15,

"So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?' He said to him, 'Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, "'Tend my lambs.'

"He said to him again a second time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?' He said to him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Shepherd My sheep.'

"He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?'

And it says, "Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love Me?' And he said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Tend My sheep.’” Three times Jesus addressed him as Simon. "Do you love Me?" And three times he affirmed his love, although he had earlier denied him three times. No doubt, in the midst of that whole scenario, Peter can still hear the rooster crowing. By the way, it's remarkable in the New Testament record: never again do we see Jesus calling him Simon after that scenario. It's intriguing to read the Apostle John's Gospel, as I said, because he refers to him 15 times as Simon Peter. In fact, Peter even referred to himself in the same manner. For example, Second Peter 1:1, he says of himself, "Simon Peter, a bond servant, an apostle of Jesus Christ." He knew both sides, didn't he? But you know, everything changed at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and dwelt within them, and the rest of the apostles - when the Holy Spirit came upon them - and while he still continued to struggle as we all do in the flesh, the Spirit's work of sanctification continued to work in and through Him. And may I remind you that it was not Simon, but a Spirit-filled Peter, the Rock, who boldly proclaimed the gospel at Pentecost, and it's such a remarkable story here because we see him being both bold but measured, and we see him articulating a level of theological acumen that he could have never acquired on his own in that short amount of time. Let me remind you of what he said in Acts two, beginning in verse 14,

"But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them, 'Men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.

"For these men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel,

"'And it shall be in the last days,' God says, 'that I will pour forth of My spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

"'Even on my bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

"And I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

"'The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. There he is. Speaking of that which was happening then, as well as foretelling what will happen in the end, and then Peter goes on to say, "Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know, this man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. But God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for him to be held in its power, oh dear Christian! What a testimony of the sanctifying power of God's grace.

"'And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"

There he's speaking of that which was happening then, as well as foretelling what will happen in the end. And then Peter goes on to say,

"'Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know -

"'this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

"'But God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.'"

Oh dear Christian! What a testimony of the sanctifying power of God's grace.  To take a man like that, and to take any of us-those of us who are typically ruled by our flesh-to remove us from the power of sin and Satan and death, and despite all of our failures and our pride and our stupidity and our weakness, mold us into the image of Christ to bring us to a place where we can be used for his glory. We see this clearly in Peter's life. In fact, it is reflected in his testimony and that great doxology in First Peter one. Just listen to this, beginning in verse three. He says,

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." In other words, he understands firsthand that God is the source of our salvation, not we ourselves. He goes on to say, "...to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

"who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

You see, not only is God the source of our salvation, he is the security of our salvation. And Peter is preaching this; he is saying this in this great text, and then even though he knows that Jesus has told him at the end of your life you are going to be crucified for your faith, notice what he says, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now, for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials...."What an amazing thing! A man filled with joy, despite the persecution, the slander, and knowing what awaited him. And why the trials? He goes on to say, "so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." In other words, what he's saying and what he understands firsthand is that persevering faith is the proof of our salvation; persevering faith in the midst of great trials. And he's telling these dear people that are scattered abroad - they've lost pretty much everything, they're enduring persecution for their faith - he's telling them that all your perseverance is proof of your salvation.

And then he goes on to say, "...and though you have not seen Him..." by the way, "I have you haven't," "...and though you have not seen Him," oh, amazing, amazing, amazing! "You love Him." In the original language, this is the the present active indicative. We call it of agapa, the agape love, and it means "you are loving him constantly." That's what he's saying. Even though you haven't seen him, you are loving him constantly, even now,

"...though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,”

What an amazing statement! In fact, may I point out to you, notice he doesn't say you "will" obtain no, no, no, that's not what he's saying. It's present tense. It's "obtaining" here and now in the present. And I mean, I might even add exegetically, it's in the middle voice. So it could be translated, "You 'are presently receiving for yourselves, ' the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. And he speaks of joy inexpressible and full of glory, which is linked back to verses eight and nine. Bottom line: what he's saying here is, beloved, the intimate fellowship and communion that we have with Christ through our love for him and our trust in him, is the outcome of your faith that you are experiencing right now, which you have right now. You have already obtained it, namely the salvation of your souls. So Peter is saying that our love for Christ and our belief in his person and his work of redemption is the essence of our salvation. That's why, by the way, later on in chapter two, verse seven, he says, "This precious value then is for you who believe." And Paul said in Ephesians 6:24, "Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an incorruptible love."

"obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls."

Also in First Corinthians 16:22, "If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed." I can't tell you how many times I've dealt with people over the years who doubt their salvation. They wonder, you know, am I really born again? And while there's many things that need to be discussed in that context, certainly at the very core, I will say to them, "I'm curious, do you persevere in your faith, even in the midst of great trials?" If the answer is yes, you're saved. Along with that, "Do you truly, sincerely love the Lord Jesus Christ?" If so, you're saved. And along with that, "Do you believe in Him, His person, His work, all that He has said, all that He has promised?" Then you're saved. "Do you love to obey Him? Is that the desire of your heart, though you fail in many ways?" If the answer is yes, then God has saved you by his grace. In John 14:15, Jesus says, "If you love me, you will keep My commandments." Again, beloved, the power of sanctifying grace. Oh, to see Peter, that brash, impetuous, vacillating fisherman, come to understand these things with all of his heart. To have this kind of joy and this kind of love - that's the fruit of the Spirit, right? Galatians five, when you walk by the Spirit, in other words, when you yield yourself to the Spirit of God in obedience, as he's revealed himself in his Word, then you will not carry out the desires of your flesh, and your body - your whole self - is going to manifest the fruit of the Spirit, which consists of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Now, with these examples, back to John 1:42. Remember what we said earlier. Andrew brings him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "'You are Simon the son of John, you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter)." And beloved, what I want you to understand is that Jesus had known Peter from the foundation of the world in his deity. Do you realize that he was the one who began a good work in him (Philippians 1:6).  "I am confident of this very thing," Paul says, "that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Beloved, don't miss this: if you love Jesus and believe in his name, he began that good work in you before he ever even spoke the universe into existence. How do I know that? Because God has made that clear over and over again. For example, Ephesians one, beginning in verse four,

"He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

"to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved."

And Paul says in Second Timothy 1:9, that God has, "...saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us when, in Christ Jesus, from all eternity." "From all eternity" can be translated "before time began," and because of this, that holy disposition that ruled Christ gradually comes to rule us. That's the power of sanctifying grace, but that progressive process will inevitably require suffering, divine discipline, especially for a man God is shaping to become his choice servant as an apostle, or any leader for that matter, especially a pastor.

Now, as it relates to spiritual leadership, certainly there are certain innate abilities, inherent aptitudes, you might say, that God has given certain people. But all of those things must be refined through testing, and we know, as we look at Scripture, and certainly as we examine our own lives, we know that the steel of every believer's faith must be hardened by the fires of affliction and shaped on the anvil of suffering. And we can definitely see this in Peter's life. Now, Peter was a natural leader in many ways because people would naturally follow him. But by the way, as a footnote, if a man has to demand other people to follow him, he's not a leader; he's a manipulative narcissist. But spiritual leadership will require a rare combination of self-confidence, but also a profound awareness of one's inadequacies and weaknesses, limitations. A spiritual leader must be assertive but also show restraint. Must be bold, but also know how to show mercy and tenderness, and got to be able to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. But also, be patient and compassionate and tender and nurturing as a shepherd.

Let me give you a few examples as we wrap this up this morning, and you'll see some parallels in Peter's life with yours. You remember when he was restored and recommissioned after Jesus challenged him three times concerning his love for him? Again, that had to have been profoundly embarrassing for Peter. Very humbling, very convicting. But what Jesus said next demonstrated to Peter that the Lord wasn't finished with him. After that challenge, Jesus said to him, you will recall, "Tend My sheep." Then, in John 21, beginning in verse 18, he says,

"'Truly, truly, I say to you that when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird yo, and bring you where you do not wish to go.'

"Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, 'Follow Me!'

You're going to be crucified at the end of your life, but I want you to follow me. And here Peter learned that although he had forsaken Christ, Christ had not forsaken him. God was going to use him to bring glory to Christ, but he also knew that Peter need to never forget his inadequacies - his imperfections, his weaknesses, his inability - to even maintain a loyal, obedient love for Christ apart from divine enablement, and I'm sure you can agree with me when I say, as a personal testimony, I live with constant regret over the ways that I have failed the Lord in my life. It's a constant conviction of mine to see my sin, and yet in the midst of that, there's such great joy because now there's no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, and the more we're amazed at our sin, the more were amazed at his grace; and the Lord knew that Peter would need to have this in order to be an effective leader. He needed to remember his failures, and that his only hope was in Christ. His only joy, his only delight would be in Christ, and we see this in his stirring testimony and admonitions.

Let me just read this to you in light of all this context. Second Peter one, beginning in verse two, and again these are the words of a man who knows how he's going to die. Second Peter two, or Second Peter one, beginning in verse two,

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;

"seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

"For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

"and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

"and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love."

Don't you know that as he writes this under the inspiration of the Scripture, he reflects on his life and says, "Oh, how I have failed in these areas! But by God's grace, I'm beginning to see the trajectory of my life in such a different direction." He goes on to say,

"For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins."

Obviously, Peter's saying, "I'm not forgetting it. I can never forget it, nor should you."

"Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;

"for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you."

And he adds this,

"I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,

“knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

"And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure, you will be able to call these things to mind."

My dear friends, what a contrast between the impetuous, impulsive, self-sufficient, brash Simon and the Spirit-empowered Peter. Remember, as Simon, he dared to rebuke Jesus after being warned of his coming rejection and death. Matthew 16:22, it says that that that he took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it! This shall never happen to You." What a difference! By the way, back then he was saying, "Look, this doesn't fit my theology here. No, no, not a dying Messiah. Uh uh, a conquering Messiah. What are you talking about? We're not having this. That's not my theology. We can't have this. You're going to whoop up on the Romans and deliver us from the Romans." You know, aren't we all like this? I've seen this so many times in my life, and I see it in the lives of some of you. When you're confronted with divine truth, no matter how clear it is revealed in Scripture, if it doesn't fit your theology, if it doesn't advance your agenda, if it doesn't coincide with what the culture is saying, then we balk.

By the way, in that same context, Matthew 16 verse 23, we read that Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on God's interest, but man's." My my my. It's one thing to be called Simon; it's another thing to be called Satan. Don't you know he never forgot that? What a tender mercy! Peter learned to be submissive to the word and the will of God, rather than the word and the will of self.

By the way, this is a problem that that we see in the church today. If I can digress just for a moment, and that is the rejection of the doctrine of the authority of Scripture. Once you move away from that, then little by little, the whole church and the whole denomination will begin to move. Well, looking at your direction, it'll begin to move left. It always moves left. How do you think we now have women preachers when God is so clear in saying that is not part of his plan because you reject the authority of Scripture. How in the world can people who name the name of Christ deny the doctrine of election and predestination when it is overwhelmingly clear in Scripture? "Well, it just doesn't fit my theology." How do you come up with the woke agenda and embracing the LGBTQ perversions and on and on it goes? It's because you deny the authority of Scripture. One of the ways people do that, especially in the pulpit, is they refuse to do expository preaching because in expository preaching you have to deal with every text. You can't jump around pick and choose. Contemporary evangelicalism believes that it is man who builds the church rather than the Holy Spirit through the systematic, in-depth teaching, preaching, and application of the Word of God. If you have a weak view of Scripture, you'll be a weak Christian, and you will be a Simon and not a Peter. Think of all the ways Peter had to learn things the hard way. He had to learn to be submissive to the Word and the will of God rather than his own Word and will and be called Satan. He had to learn humility.

Remember when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples in the upper room, when they're bickering over who's going to be greatest in the kingdom? My, he was profoundly humbled after succumbing to Satan's assaults that led to his denials. By the way, the text says that he went out and he wept bitterly, and yet the Lord forgave him and restored him, recommissioned him. By the way, understanding this, he would later write in First Peter five, beginning in verse five, "You younger men," that tend to be impetuous and hard-headed and stubborn, like I used to be and like I still fight, "You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." My, I had to learn that the hard way. He goes on to say,

"Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

"casting all your anxiety on Him..." here's why, "...because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." My, he had to learn self-restraint, did he not? Self-control - after trying to chop off the head of the high priest servant in the garden. By the way, Jesus said to him in John 18:11, "Put the sword into the sheath, the cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?" Oh, he learned the lesson well. We read later on in First Peter two, begin in verse 21, "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps. Again, something I had to learn the hard way. He, "who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; "and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to him who judges righteously." He learned the importance of purposefully submitting to authority, even unbelievers. Remember when he was confronted with the requirement, and Jesus-they were all confronted with the requirement to give the two drachma temple tax. Jesus didn't need to pay that. That really bothered Peter, he balked at that. But then Jesus said in Matthew 17:27, look, "Go to the sea, throw in a hook, take the first fish that come up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that, and give it to them for you and Me." Submit to the authority here. Peter learned that later on he would say in First Peter two, beginning in verse 12, "Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles..." It's really hard for me to do. Why? "...so that in the thing in which they slander you as evil doers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

"Submit yourselves, for the Lord's sake, to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,

"or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and the praise of those who do right.

"For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men."

He learned what it was to find strength and joy in the Lord despite terrible circumstances, and how to have courage to think he served the rest of his life, knowing he would be crucified. First Peter three, we read about it. Verse 14, we see again his testimony here. But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation. Do not be troubled. Instead, do this: but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Set Him aside as the Lord of your life, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and reverence, and keep a good conscience, so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

He learned what it was to find strength and joy in the Lord despite terrible circumstances, and how to have courage. To think he served the rest of his life, knowing he would be crucified. First Peter three, we read about it. Verse 14, we see again his testimony here, "But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled..." instead, do this, "...but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts..." set him aside as the Lord of your life,

"...always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and reverence;

"and keep a good conscience, so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

"For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong."

Oh, the power of sanctifying grace! God molded Peter to be the leader of the 12, and although he suffered persecution and imprisonment and eventually martyrdom, he remained steadfast and loyal to the Lord to the very end. What an example for us! Tradition tells us that prior to his crucifixion, he was forced to watch his wife be crucified until she expired. Some traditions have it that he said to her repeatedly, as she suffered, "Remember the Lord, remember the Lord, remember the Lord." And then, when it was his turn, he refused to be crucified, as Christ was crucified, preferring to be crucified upside down. Folks, this is all a work of the Spirit in the life of one who will willingly yield himself or herself to him. May I challenge you right now to realize that God is shaping you, even this very minute, He's shaping you into the person that he wants you to be for his glory, to be used in whatever sphere of influence he has placed you. Won't you rejoice in that, regardless of what that shaping might be? Sometimes it's very painful, but ultimately you will find it for your good and for his glory. So let's thank him for his sanctifying grace and rejoice in the glory of our heavenly inheritance, which will be ultimately Christ himself.

Father, thank you for the great truths of your word. Thank you for the power of your sanctifying grace. May we yield to it with great joy and hope, and may our love remain steadfast, as well as our obedience, that we might experience the fullness of all that is ours in Christ Jesus. For it's in his name that I pray. Amen.