1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,200 You can turn in your Bible to Matthew chapter 26. 2 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:17,080 What? Oh, Matthew 26? 3 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:27,840 I'm going to give my recap. I want like 90 seconds this 4 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,680 time. So the recap is here we are. 5 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,640 We're still in the night of Jesus's crucifixion. 6 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,880 We're in Holy Week. We've been really crawling 7 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:39,360 through it. It takes us week after week 8 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,120 after week after week after week, and we're going through 9 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,280 just these tiny portions of what happened on that whole week. 10 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,680 We saw that he came in with a triumphal entry and it was Palm 11 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:49,880 Sunday, which is actually next Sunday. 12 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:51,920 Don't you wish it would have lined up perfectly for us? 13 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:54,040 I know everybody's like, man, we've been preaching through 14 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:56,280 this for two years now. It would have been nice Joe 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,160 Michael, if you could have sorry, I didn't. 16 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,800 So you know, Natalie was like, could you chop it up maybe and 17 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:03,360 do this? And I'm like, no, we're going to 18 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,080 take it as it comes. But we we came in on the 19 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,200 triumphal entry. Be blessed is he who comes in 20 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,000 the name of the Lord. Everybody's worshipping. 21 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,480 Some people seem to understand. They kind of believe. 22 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:15,840 Maybe they kind of don't believe. 23 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:17,040 Maybe they're caught up in the hype. 24 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,520 Maybe they're excited about Jesus because he thinks finally 25 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,000 he's going to stick it to the Romans and we're not going to be 26 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:23,960 experiencing the Roman oppression anymore. 27 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,680 Judas is probably super excited doing the triumphal entry. 28 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,960 He's like, look at the crowd. Finally, maybe Jesus won't scare 29 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:32,480 this crowd off like he always does by saying something 30 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,520 offensive and bad news for Judas. 31 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,480 Jesus continue to say things offensive all week long. 32 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,160 He got even more and more and more strong in his rebuke and 33 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,080 his objections to the Pharisees and he put them on blast in 34 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,880 front of everybody in front of the temple, hundreds of 35 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,960 thousands of people in Jerusalem, and Jesus is yelling 36 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,480 and preaching and shaming and condemning. 37 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,280 Does Jesus shame and condemn? He does he's he does the right 38 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:59,240 thing at the right time. He doesn't always do one thing. 39 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,320 Some people pretend that Jesus only had one gear. 40 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,160 The only gear Jesus had is he would pick up barnyard animals 41 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,600 and he would just pet them gently and he would just look 42 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,919 whimsically into the heavens. You don't have any scripture 43 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:12,880 that paints that Jesus for you, but you've got plenty of 44 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:14,600 paintings who have painted that Jesus for you. 45 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:16,720 But what is Jesus? Jesus is the right thing at the 46 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:18,080 right time. If you're a humble and 47 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,600 repentant, wow, it's going to be really good for you. 48 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,320 It's going to be super, super sweet and wonderful you 49 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:26,680 wonderful for you. If you're really prideful and 50 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,600 self-righteous, it's going to be really really bad for you. 51 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,320 Jesus has no tolerance for pride. 52 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,280 He has 0 tolerance for it and especially when you're 53 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,720 misleading others. So that's why he was putting the 54 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,800 religious leaders on blast all week long. 55 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,920 A lot of times people say Jesus, he went hard after the religious 56 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:45,800 people. We should clarify that he went 57 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,520 hard after the religious people not because they were religious 58 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,000 people. That is a common ignorant thing 59 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,640 that people misunderstand. You'll hear non believers be 60 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:56,680 like well you know who we really went after? 61 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,720 Like I know what you're about to say but let me help you don't 62 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,200 say it because it's stupid. They're going to say he he went 63 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,760 after it was the church folk. It was after the self-righteous 64 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,840 people that was the issue. He didn't hate religious people 65 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,760 because they were religious. He was mad at religious people 66 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,920 because they were hypocritical. Flagrantly hypocritical, 67 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,400 monstrously hypocritical. Not like they had a bad day or 68 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,240 not like they loved the Lord faithfully, faithfully, 69 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,120 faithfully. And then they snapped at their 70 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:25,760 kids one day and it's a hypocrite. 71 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,040 Everyone in that sense is a hypocrite, right? 72 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:30,880 We say that sin is bad and then still we sin. 73 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:32,800 So in that sense everyone is a hypocrite. 74 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,440 The the hypocrisy that was taking place with the Jewish 75 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,360 leadership is on a level that's beyond beyond most of our 76 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:41,320 comprehension. That's why we took our time to 77 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,720 really look at it and examine it and go, these guys are deeply, 78 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,440 deeply wicked. The Messiah is standing in front 79 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:49,400 of them, the one they're supposed to be preparing for, 80 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:51,480 they're rejecting. And of course now they're 81 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:53,600 crucifying it. So we've come through this week. 82 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:55,680 We came through, it's the Passover week. 83 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,000 People have come all into Jerusalem to celebrate the 84 00:03:58,000 --> 00:03:59,720 Passover. Remember the Passover, we had 85 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,560 Egypt, we had Moses, and the Lord said, put the blood on the 86 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:08,200 doorposts and the death Angel will what he will Passover if 87 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:09,880 the blood is applied to your home. 88 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,800 So the Jews have always celebrated this Passover meal, 89 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:14,600 this Passover meal, this Passover meal. 90 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:16,440 And now here we are in the middle of the night. 91 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,760 Just a few hours ago, Jesus said, hey boys, let's take the 92 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:21,760 Passover meal together again. And they're saying, yeah, we're 93 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:23,200 going to do it again. We've done this past couple 94 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,600 years of Jesus. But on this night, Jesus said, 95 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,760 this is the new covenant and they're going, what? 96 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:34,440 And he said, in my blood, they're going, this is different 97 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,440 from every other Passover meal we've ever had. 98 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:39,800 And he gives them the bread and they're like, yeah, yeah, this 99 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,040 is the lamb that was slain. He goes, this is my body. 100 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,200 They're going, What? I still don't fully get it. 101 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,680 Jesus is saying, I am the Passover lamb. 102 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:56,120 When you apply my blood to your life, the wrath of God will pass 103 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:58,560 over you. You will be spared, you will be 104 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,320 restored. You will be taken out of Egypt, 105 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,280 out of the land of your oppression, out of the land of 106 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:07,040 your sin, out of the land of your devastation. 107 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,160 And you will can go out with wealth, you will go out with 108 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:12,640 blessing, you will go out with a promised land. 109 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,320 You see how the the Jews leaving Egypt was always a picture for 110 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,080 the church and for the future. It was a picture, but it wasn't 111 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,840 the full fulfillment of it. Jesus and the church is the 112 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:25,040 fulfillment of all of it. So that's what was happening. 113 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,840 In a little bit over 90 seconds. That's what was happening. 114 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:28,880 Yeah. Thank you. 115 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,840 Let him cook. That's what was happening that 116 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:33,200 night. Earlier when Jesus had 117 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,400 reestablished, he said, this is the new covenant in my blood. 118 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,720 He's teaching his disciples I'm about to be the true Passover 119 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,440 lamb. It was always about me. 120 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,200 And now I'm going to fulfill it all, and I will be the Passover 121 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,160 lamb, and I will take away the sins of the whole of the whole 122 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:49,000 world. Jesus was the Lamb of God that 123 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,440 was slain before the foundation of the world, not in the sense 124 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,920 of time, but in the sense of God's heart. 125 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,680 So now we've come into the garden and Jesus prays and his 126 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,840 disciples are with him. Judas the betrayer leads the 127 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:04,960 massive crowd, the massive mob coming with swords and clubs to 128 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,280 get Jesus in the night. They've just taken him to his 129 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:09,800 first false trial with Caiaphas the high priest. 130 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:11,880 They're not even supposed to be having trials at night, but 131 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,760 they've just done so because they're so desperate to get 132 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:16,760 Jesus. Jesus puts them on blast again. 133 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,240 They think Jesus is on trial. He reveals that they're on 134 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,080 trial, that he is judging them. Jesus judges people. 135 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:25,680 The Bible says he's coming to judge the living and the dead. 136 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:27,840 My Jesus would never judge anybody. 137 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,600 Your Jesus isn't the real Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible is the 138 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:33,840 only Jesus. Jesus does judge. 139 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,280 The good news about Jesus is he does not condemn. 140 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:39,960 So to judge is to just say that is right, that is wrong. 141 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,240 You all judge by the way, always all the time. 142 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,440 You cannot function in life without making judgments. 143 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,760 Every non Christians favorite verse in the Bible, Matthew 71, 144 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:52,760 judge not. They don't know anything else 145 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:54,040 that comes next, but they got that. 146 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,600 That's on the refrigerators. So the point that Jesus is 147 00:06:57,600 --> 00:06:59,640 making there is to not judge with hypocrisy. 148 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,560 So I should not condemn is the issue. 149 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,200 So I can still judge and say that's right, that's wrong, 150 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:07,600 that's good, that's bad. The issue though is I should not 151 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,280 condemn and say Matt did the bad thing, therefore Matt is forever 152 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,280 lost. There's no hope for you, Matt. 153 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,720 And I condemn Matt, but I can still say, hey Matt, that was 154 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:17,320 wrong. What you did. 155 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,120 You shouldn't have run that person over in the street. 156 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:20,640 I think it was a really mean thing to do. 157 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,880 But what I shouldn't do is condemn Matt and say there's no 158 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,320 hope and there's no restoration and there's no redemption for 159 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:29,320 you. Didn't was it wrong for Matt to 160 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,440 run that person over? What a bunch of judgmental 161 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:34,400 Christians. This whole church is full of 162 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,840 judgmental people. Wow. 163 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:40,360 Who are you to judge? You see how stupid that is, how 164 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,160 stupid that argument is? It's completely idiotic. 165 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:45,520 It's demonic. Frankly, Satan came up with it. 166 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:50,520 So we can still judge right and wrong and and yet we don't 167 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:52,240 condemn others. We go, oh, that was wrong. 168 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,200 Lord help them. Lord bless them. 169 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:56,080 Lord save them. Lord redeem them. 170 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,440 Lord forgive them like Stephen did for those killing him. 171 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:02,760 He's like, Lord, don't even count the sin against them as 172 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:07,640 they stoned him to death. Let's get into this sermon. 173 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,800 So that was what just happened. This false trial took place. 174 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:16,280 But during this false trial, why Caiaphas is dealing with Jesus 175 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,440 and they're saying we brought these false witnesses and they 176 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,400 said, I heard him say this and I heard him say that. 177 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,120 And Jesus doesn't answer for any of it because Jesus doesn't 178 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,520 answer for lies. But then they finally get him on 179 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:28,560 the truth and he goes, oh, I'll answer for the truth. 180 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,640 It was for that purpose that I came, I came to testify to the 181 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,360 truth. And they said, tell us if you 182 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,400 are the Son of God, he said, you say that I am. 183 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,320 So he was essentially saying, of course I am. 184 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,720 And he says, and you will see the Son of man coming on the 185 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,760 clouds, which for them again was mind blowing because that was 186 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,280 him saying coming on the clouds is always a sign of judgement. 187 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:54,800 So that was his way of saying, and I'm coming back for you and 188 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,480 this night will be reminded. You'll be reminded of this night 189 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,400 when I come back for you in this moment. 190 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:01,920 So they think they're judging Jesus and really they're just 191 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,560 helping to prepare the Passover lamb as he gives his life. 192 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:06,680 He's not a victim. He's not a hostage. 193 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,320 He is a willing sacrifice who gives himself because he loves 194 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,760 you so much. So now during all of that, here 195 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,400 we are in the same middle of the night, verse 69. 196 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:21,040 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard and a servant girl 197 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,240 came up to him and said, you also were with Jesus the 198 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,880 Galilean. But he denied it before them 199 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:28,720 all, saying I don't know what you mean. 200 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,400 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl 201 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,920 saw him, and she said to the bystanders, This man was with 202 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,640 Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied it with an 203 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,680 oath, I do not know the man. After a little while the 204 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:48,000 bystanders came up and said to Peter, certainly you 2 are one 205 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,120 of them, for your accent betrays you. 206 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,640 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do 207 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:57,840 not know the man. And immediately the rooster 208 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,720 crowed, and Peter remembered the saying of Jesus before the 209 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,080 rooster crows, You will deny me three times. 210 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:07,760 And he went out and wept bitterly. 211 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,200 Lord, open the eyes of our hearts that we would see and 212 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:12,960 behold the treasures of your word. 213 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,440 That we would recognize where you want to protect us, where 214 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:19,400 You want to help us, where you want to grow us, where you want 215 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,120 to train US. Lord, I pray You would bring us 216 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,480 closer to Jesus. That we would not look at Peter 217 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:28,360 with condemnation, although we can judge his wrong actions. 218 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:31,480 That we would not look at him or any others with condemnation or 219 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:35,440 self righteousness, but that we would be drawn even more deeply 220 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:37,280 and desperately into the presence of Jesus. 221 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:39,760 When we feel afraid, draw us closer to Jesus. 222 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,000 When we feel bold, draw us closer to Jesus. 223 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,600 When we feel faithless, draw us closer to Jesus. 224 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:48,120 When we feel faithful, draw us closer to Jesus and everything 225 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:51,200 And in every way, Lord, just bring us closer to Jesus, Keep 226 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:54,960 us safe in him, bragging in him and glorifying Him. 227 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,160 We thank you for Your word and your instruction this morning in 228 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,520 Jesus name, Amen. Peter is sitting outside in the 229 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:05,040 courtyard. So I don't know the exact 230 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,240 breakdown of of what this look like in Caiaphas's house where 231 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:10,840 they're meeting and the courtyard outside of his place. 232 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:13,520 It's likely that Peter was maybe in the same courtyard where the 233 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,040 judgment was taking place of Jesus. 234 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,600 But it's a big crowd, lots of people, hundreds of soldiers 235 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:20,080 came, remember, and maybe some other people who are up late in 236 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,560 the middle of the night. Remember, people are in camping, 237 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:24,600 people have filled the city. So what's going on over there? 238 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:25,880 Let me, let me just see what's going on. 239 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:27,960 Let me put my cloak on. And you know, they got a fire 240 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:29,520 lit over there. So they're, they're checking out 241 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:31,920 with what's the hubbub, what's the busyness in the middle of 242 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,560 the but Peter's out there and he's sitting among the enemies 243 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:37,840 of Christ. We know that he's sitting with 244 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,560 the soldiers. We said that he's close enough 245 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:44,320 to see what's happening, but he's far away enough to avoid 246 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:48,000 being identified with Jesus. And this is a tragic warning to 247 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,400 all lukewarm Christians. This is a tragic warning to all 248 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:53,600 of us. On any day of the week, I want 249 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,560 to be close enough to Jesus that I feel like I'm comfortable. 250 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,600 I feel like I could claim association if I wanted it, but 251 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:03,280 I'm also far enough away from Jesus that I could disassociate 252 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,840 if the need arises. This is a tragic and awful place 253 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:08,280 to be, and Peter is living it out. 254 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:10,160 Like physically, literally, in real time. 255 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,200 It seems like a good analogy, when really it's exactly what's 256 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,600 taking place here. He's following, but he's 257 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,280 following at a distance. He might feel some affection for 258 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:21,640 Jesus, but he does not feel enough for Jesus to identify 259 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:25,160 with him, not to suffer with him, not to stand with him. 260 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,600 And this compromise is what leads to Peter's denial. 261 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,360 It's called backsliding. It's not called back jumping. 262 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,600 We typically don't make giant leaps backwards. 263 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:41,040 We typically just go eventually, how did I get here? 264 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:43,640 And it started with the warning that Jesus gave. 265 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,760 And Peter, pray. Pray that you will not fall into 266 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:48,720 temptation. Mistake number one. 267 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,680 Peter didn't pray. And now his second step is this 268 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:54,200 compromise. I'm, I'm, I'm going to kind of 269 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,640 follow. I'm going to kind of not follow, 270 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,720 which leads to the tragic third thing that happens, the outright 271 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:04,080 flagrant denial of the Lord Jesus Christ really to his face, 272 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,040 because other gospel accounts tell us that when he denied him 273 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:10,120 the third time, Jesus looks up and sees Peter and the rooster 274 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,640 crows. What a painful betrayal for the 275 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:15,400 Lord. It's one thing for him to be 276 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:17,760 have his enemies constantly spit in his face and mock him. 277 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:20,040 He's like, I know these guys hate me and I love them. 278 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,800 Father, forgive them. Remember, he cried out on the 279 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:24,360 cross so they don't know what they're doing. 280 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,360 He could say that for his enemies, but for Peter, he's 281 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:32,360 done it all with Peter. Remember, Peter has walked on 282 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,840 water with Jesus Christ. Peter has been on top of a 283 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:41,160 mountain with Jesus Christ when Moses and Elijah came from 284 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,280 heaven and Jesus was transfigured before Peter's 285 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:46,760 eyeballs. You and I think if I'd 286 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,040 experienced that stuff, I would never go back. 287 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,640 But if Peter can do it, you can do it. 288 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,160 And if Peter can do it, I can do it. 289 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,480 Pastor, are you just trying to terrify us? 290 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:00,800 Well, yeah, kind of. And also give you the solution, 291 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,840 which is stay close to Jesus and don't be prideful, which was 292 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:07,240 Peter's error. I will never deny you, Lord. 293 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,000 They might. This whole church might. 294 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,280 But I want Lord, not me. That's what Peter told Jesus. 295 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,920 He goes, boys, you're all going to fall away on account of me 296 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,000 tonight. He told them that at the supper. 297 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,520 And they go, oh, no, no, no, no. Peter goes, hey, hey, they 298 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:24,000 probably will, I'll give you that. 299 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:28,000 But I won't. And he goes, Peter and his 300 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,200 pride. Not only will you do what 301 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,040 they're going to do now, you're actually going to deny me three 302 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,520 times. They're just going to scatter. 303 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,200 When the soldiers come and I get arrested, that's one thing. 304 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:43,920 But you're going to deliberately say I don't know him, you don't 305 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,200 know me? Remember when I filled your fit 306 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:47,560 your boat with fish? Peter? 307 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,440 Did you know me that day? Remember the mountain? 308 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:52,320 Remember walking on water that night? 309 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:53,600 Remember when I calmed the storm? 310 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:56,560 Remember when I raised Lazarus? Remember when I raised your 311 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,760 mother-in-law? Maybe Peter's mad at him about 312 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,800 that. Just a little preacher, Joe. 313 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:04,080 Little mother-in-law joke, everybody. 314 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:09,640 Do you remember all that, Peter? And Peter denies him. 315 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:14,840 Have you been in those situations where you steered the 316 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,520 conversation away cleverly, subtly, gently, and no one knew 317 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,120 except you, but you steered it away from spiritual things? 318 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,920 I'm not saying every conversation that happens, you 319 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,720 need to be pounding your Bible and and showing everyone its 320 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:29,720 contents. That's not the claim that I'm 321 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,120 trying to make. I think that would be weird. 322 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,360 I think that would be strange. But have there been times where 323 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:35,520 you saw an opportunity? Have there been times where you 324 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,720 saw the doorway opening and you were the actually the one who 325 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,360 closed it in the conversation? You know, I don't know if I want 326 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,760 that association right now. I don't know how that would be 327 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:48,200 received with this potential Co worker, employer, friend, family 328 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,320 member, vendor, whatever. I don't want to rock the boat or 329 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,640 not here to rock the boat. But we are here to associate 330 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,080 with Christ and testify to who he is and what he's done in our 331 00:15:58,080 --> 00:15:59,200 lives. That's for sure. 332 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:01,400 So our motive isn't boat rocking. 333 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,560 And yet if the boat gets rocked, all right, well, that's, that's 334 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,520 out of my jurisdiction. But my responsibility is to keep 335 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:13,160 saying I am with him, I am with him, I am with him, I am with 336 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:16,600 him. We want to be the person who's 337 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,320 so close to Jesus that that the story would read differently and 338 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:22,040 said in the one disciple, they had to continue pulling him away 339 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,640 from Christ so that they could beat Christ savagely. 340 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,440 And the disciple also took some blows in the process. 341 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:29,400 That'd have been a different story, wouldn't it? 342 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:31,880 You know that for the rest of his life, Peter would have 343 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:33,280 wished that that had been the story. 344 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,000 What I would give to go back and be with him on that night. 345 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,920 Good news. Spoiler alert, Peter is totally 346 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,920 restored later, totally and completely restored to become a 347 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,800 pillar in the church, but not to become a perfect man because he 348 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:49,720 does not become a perfect man. And even in the book of Acts, we 349 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,440 have more record of his errors and his sins as he's called out 350 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:56,280 by the apostle Paul. This is good news for you. 351 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,480 This is good news for me. Jesus calls some backwater boy 352 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,720 named Peter because that's what Galileans were, by the way. 353 00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:08,160 They were like Guinea Bubba's. We can make fun of getting, you 354 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:09,160 know, by from getting in here. We're safe. 355 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:11,680 Jordan's not here this morning. So we can make fun of West 356 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:13,640 Virginia. It's like West Virginia, you 357 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,119 know, West Virginia tells you when I love her. 358 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,680 But you know, the West Virginian jokes that we would make and 359 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:20,960 like, that's what Galilee was to these people. 360 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:22,760 This is kind of the backwater, folks. 361 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,240 She goes, you're with Jesus the Galilean. 362 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:27,599 She doesn't say Jesus the Christ. 363 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:28,920 She doesn't say Jesus the Messiah. 364 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,760 She wants him to be named lowly. You're with Jesus the Galilean. 365 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,440 Judas's betrayal gets the attention that it deserves. 366 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,720 But this is Peter. And on this night, because of 367 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,640 pride, because of prayerlessness, because of 368 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,960 failure to defeat temptation, he commits A horrific sin and 369 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:54,240 denies the Lord. And now it's a servant girl who 370 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,040 calls him out, who intimidates him. 371 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,400 A servant girl came up to him, said you were with Jesus, the 372 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,440 Galilean. She recognizes Peter, who knows 373 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:06,840 from where, maybe from the temple. 374 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:09,560 Throughout the week, she's picked up on what's going on 375 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:11,680 here. Peter denies it before them all. 376 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:15,480 I do not know what you mean. He knows exactly what she means. 377 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,080 We've all used this lie. This is a lie that all of us 378 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:20,960 have used. Somebody catches us with the 379 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:22,680 truth. Somebody asks us a direct 380 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,840 question in the moment. And you're so put off and you're 381 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,480 so caught off guard. You need to stall and you need 382 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:29,320 to buy time. You go. 383 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:32,280 What are you talking about? Maybe I'm the only one who's 384 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:34,240 ever done that. No, nobody else ever has. 385 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,880 What are you talking about? Their question wasn't confusing. 386 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,760 It wasn't unclear. It wasn't muddy. 387 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:44,360 But in your sin, you're going. What are you talking about? 388 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:46,800 What do you even mean? Where were you last night? 389 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:51,160 What kind of question is that? A plain spoken one. 390 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,600 What do you mean? What I mean is, what was your 391 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:59,520 geographical location between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM? 392 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:03,240 What's going on? Stalling. 393 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,120 Stalling. I'm stuttering. 394 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,600 I'm sidestepping. What can I do to pivot out of 395 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:09,200 the situation? That's all Peter's doing here. 396 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,400 It feels like I'm not lying, except that I am lying. 397 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,360 It's still deception. It's still sin. 398 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,680 And this is where Peter starts. He doesn't start with, I don't 399 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:21,960 know him. He starts with what? 400 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,040 This is so confusing. Oh, it's a crazy night out here. 401 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:28,960 Oh, look over there, he knows exactly what she means. 402 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,040 But he does this quick shuffle, buying time, preparing for more 403 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:33,680 lies. Unfortunately, he's got nothing 404 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:35,400 better. So then he starts to double 405 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:36,600 down. But we've all done the same 406 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,360 thing. Instead of the truth, you 407 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:43,240 attempt to delay or distract. And yes, it's all still 408 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,880 deception. I do not know what you mean. 409 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:50,400 Verse 71. And he went out to the entrance. 410 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:53,760 Another serving girl saw him and she said to the bystander, 411 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,520 bystanders, this man was with Jesus of Nazareth. 412 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:03,320 Peter moves to the entrance, the entrance of the courtyard, also 413 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,680 known as the exit of the courtyard. 414 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,280 What is he doing? He's literally showing us what 415 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,280 sin does. It puts you farther and farther 416 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,480 away from Jesus, and he is preparing his exit. 417 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,080 The pressures are getting too great. 418 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:18,800 Jesus is over there. Well, then I'm going to be over 419 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:19,840 there. I don't even know what you're 420 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:23,080 talking about. Let me move over here so if 421 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,720 things get crazy, I'm right here at the door. 422 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:27,800 I can make my break for it. I can get away from this 423 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:29,080 pressure. He's not running from 424 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:30,400 temptation. He's running from the presence 425 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,240 of Jesus, which is what we could be tempted to do in our sin, 426 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:36,160 which is what Adam did in his sin. 427 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:41,120 Hiding, covering with fig leaves. 428 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:44,400 It's not enough. It never was. 429 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:48,320 He's putting distance between himself and Jesus, distance 430 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,120 between himself and the group, preparing an escape. 431 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:54,600 Sin always moves us away from Christ. 432 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,960 Every step deeper into sin is another step away from the 433 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,280 presence of Jesus. And it makes it easier and 434 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,560 easier to sin because I get farther and farther away from 435 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,000 Jesus. So it becomes it becomes a 436 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,400 vicious cycle. It becomes a momentum builder. 437 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,000 Anytime you think you're in control of your sin, you're 438 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,720 already deceived. Anytime you think I'll just have 439 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:19,720 this bite, no one will know about this bite. 440 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,360 I keep this thing in the closet and I can just take a bite 441 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:25,680 whenever I want because I have it like it's it's controlled. 442 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,560 It's not true, it's a lie, and it's a deception. 443 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,240 It's having a pet lion. And when he's a little cub, 444 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,120 you'll hate this guy's so much fun, and you can toy around with 445 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:37,160 him in your hands. But sin keeps growing because 446 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:38,840 you keep feeding it and you keep feeding it. 447 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,560 And eventually it becomes the lion that toys around with you, 448 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,360 and it can fling you around and it devours you. 449 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:48,400 That's what sin always does. I used to hear Pastor Chris. 450 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,800 He would always say, sin will take you farther than you want 451 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,240 to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more 452 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,640 than you could ever pay. And for any of us who have 453 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:00,880 walked in any season of backsliding or just any season 454 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:04,040 outside of Christ, for sure we can go, Yeah, it's just 455 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,320 devastating. Life is hard enough when you're 456 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:11,000 walking with Christ. Like life still gets a vote. 457 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:12,840 Life still punches us in the face. 458 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,800 There's still difficulties and challenges. 459 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,440 But praise God, like in the middle of all that, I go, but I 460 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,400 still have Jesus. So it's like, I'm going to be 461 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:24,720 OK. But outside of that, I'm like, 462 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,360 man, it gives me compassion for people because I'm going like, 463 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,560 how do you make it through a day without Christ? 464 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,880 How do you make it through a day when you're just being the heap 465 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,920 in the heap, in the heap of your sin and your shame and the 466 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:38,720 brokenness and the discouragement and the 467 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:42,800 disappointments and the fear and the chaotic world and the 468 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,000 deception. And but at the end of all of 469 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,360 that, when you're freaking out, you don't get to come back to 470 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:52,360 the place of but I have Jesus and Jesus as me. 471 00:22:52,880 --> 00:23:02,680 What a tragedy, what a terror. But we think it it's worth it. 472 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,240 The Scripture tells us that that there's pleasure in sin for a 473 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:06,440 season. Of course there is. 474 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:07,960 If there wasn't, we wouldn't do it. 475 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:10,920 If sin just hurt and it was only painful. 476 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:12,000 Oh, there's nothing good about sin. 477 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,480 Well, I mean, it does taste sweet like that Candy's not good 478 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,360 for you. But it it does taste good. 479 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,000 That's why we're eating it. That cake isn't going to help 480 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:21,840 us. Natalie's pound cake is here 481 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:26,040 today. So you know I love you when I 482 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:27,320 share my wife's pound cake with you. 483 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,280 So it's good. So try some. 484 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,040 It's good for your soul. I can't speak. 485 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,520 I can't speak for your body, but I can tell you it's good for 486 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:38,440 your soul. But there's pleasure in sin for 487 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:40,640 a season, but that season runs out. 488 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:44,480 And when it runs out, it can leave people in devastating 489 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:47,920 places. This other servant girl, she 490 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:49,960 calls out to the crowd. So she's a bit of a busy body. 491 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,320 This is the drama queen, right? The first one just called him 492 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,040 out directly. The other one was like, this is 493 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,160 about to get juicy. Hey, everybody. 494 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,600 No, no, he was with Jesus. He's with Jesus. 495 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,000 The pressure's building, the environment, the environment is 496 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,680 closing in. Peter is publicly identified. 497 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:10,880 And now in verse 72, in verse 71, he went out to the entrance. 498 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,120 Another serving girl saw him. She said to the bystanders, this 499 00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:18,520 man was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied it with an 500 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,640 oath. I do not know the man. 501 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,880 So he escalates. He brings an oath into it. 502 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,240 We don't know what the oath was. We don't know how he pledged. 503 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,520 We don't know what the what the swear was, but he supposedly was 504 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:36,520 bringing himself underoath. Remember what Jesus has taught 505 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,000 Peter. He's forgotten that lesson. 506 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,520 Let your yes be yes. Let your no be no. 507 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:43,800 Anything more than that comes from the evil 1. 508 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:45,960 I promise. You don't need a promise. 509 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:48,720 Be a man of your word, Just say, just tell me yes. 510 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,120 You don't need a promise, just be a woman of your word. 511 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:52,840 Just say yes. Just say no. 512 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,600 Don't get into the strangeness, don't get into the deceptions. 513 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,240 Just keep it plain. Plain spoken. 514 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,680 People are not comfortable with plain spoken speech, but we 515 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,040 should be as Christians. We don't intend to be jarring, 516 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:08,200 but we intend to be full of integrity and honest. 517 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,680 Peter says I'll prove it to you. He's using all of his verbal 518 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:14,800 judo that he can find. I'll make an oath. 519 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,880 I do not know the man. This should make us humble, 520 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,360 watchful, and dependent on Jesus. 521 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:23,840 If Peter can do this, we could do this. 522 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:27,560 Peter wasn't destined to do this. 523 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:32,000 You're not destined to do this. Good news, Peter could have 524 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,200 overcome temptation by obeying Jesus and praying in the garden. 525 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:37,760 Pray that you do not fall into temptation. 526 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,040 That was Jesus's will for Peter. And yet the prophetic warning 527 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:43,240 also came. This is what you're going to do, 528 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:45,840 Peter. It wasn't an enforcement of 529 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,000 Peter's will. Peter's will was still fully 530 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,320 involved in everything that he did. 531 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,560 But think about it. If anybody could rely on their 532 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:55,640 past experiences to make them confident, it would be Peter. 533 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:59,600 He also heard the voice of the father saying, This is my son 534 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,120 with whom I'm well pleased. And he also heard the voice of 535 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,240 the father say, this is my son. Listen to him on the 536 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:09,200 mountaintop. But Peter's past faithfulness is 537 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,800 not the same thing as present faithfulness. 538 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:17,120 Your past faithfulness does not equate to present faithfulness. 539 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:24,320 Does that alarm you? Nothing from your past 540 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:30,240 determines your future. Christians in church we often 541 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:32,120 say that and everybody goes praise God. 542 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,840 But it applies in both ways. Nothing from your past, all the 543 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,760 negative, all the all the awful, none of that determines your 544 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,000 future. Hallelujah, all your previous 545 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,320 faithfulness, none of that determines your future. 546 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,560 What determines my future? Jesus's accomplishment for you 547 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:53,560 and your present trust in Him. That's what determines your 548 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,440 future. We can't look back on our old 549 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,200 mountaintop experiences. Peter literally had the 550 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:02,040 mountaintop experience, and maybe that's what gave him all 551 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,800 this false confidence. Maybe that's what gave him all 552 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,200 this bravado of like, man, I ain't going anywhere. 553 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,200 I've seen too much, I've been too far, I know too much. 554 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:11,840 I love him, I'm with him. I know who he is. 555 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:15,920 I would never deny him. But Peter changes his tune. 556 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:21,040 Only what Jesus has done for you secures you, and you must keep 557 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,040 walking with him. It's like a wedding. 558 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,880 A wedding is a wonderful moment. It is a lifetime high, but a 559 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:32,040 marriage must be sustained with daily faithfulness, with 560 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:36,000 repentance and with love. Not remember our wedding, 561 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:38,320 remember our wedding. We had 1000 people there. 562 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:41,400 Remember the decor like that's not going to help you and you're 563 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,480 17. The wedding was a special day. 564 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,520 It was good. It was a it was a beautiful 565 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,560 moment. Praise God for weddings. 566 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,120 Jesus love weddings. We should love weddings, but a 567 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:57,600 marriage is sustained day by day by day by day, over and over, 568 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:00,960 over time. A sports championship is a 569 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,520 glorious moment. It's an exceptional high. 570 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:08,080 But continued success requires continued training to show up 571 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:13,040 again, over and over and over. You cannot live off of 572 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,240 yesterday's victory. You must stay close to Jesus 573 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,800 today. You must stay close to Jesus 574 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:20,480 tomorrow. You must stay close to Jesus the 575 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:22,840 next day. Talking a big game about the 576 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,000 past is also not a great indicator of where someone is 577 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,800 even in the present. Somebody's got great testimonies 578 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,360 that are legitimately even truthful man, this happened and 579 00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:33,360 this happened and this happened and this happened. 580 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:37,200 First of all, praise the Lord for those for those for those 581 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,280 beautiful memories and what the Lord has done, the Scripture 582 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,280 command, God commanded the Israelites to make markers and 583 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:45,760 to build altars in the wilderness and to say like we're 584 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:47,280 going to mark the moment. You're going to tell your 585 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:49,480 children about this, and they'll always know that this altar 586 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,680 remembers that thing. Mark the moments. 587 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:55,280 Celebrate the past. Celebrate anniversaries of God's 588 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:59,040 answered prayers in your lives for cats, for children, and for 589 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:00,520 everything. Wherever the Lord has come 590 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,480 through, open up your journal and go. 591 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,160 He is so faithful. Look, it was On this date, this 592 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:09,920 many years that we're all about celebrating and honoring what 593 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,400 the Lord has done. But don't think that you can 594 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,800 live off of yesterday's manna. You need fresh food today. 595 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:19,800 You want to walk with him today? What does your relationship look 596 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:21,600 like today? Oh, me and Natalie. 597 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:22,840 You should have seen our honeymoon. 598 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:24,480 Was amazing. Cool. 599 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,560 We were so in love. You were so in love. 600 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,160 Yeah. We were so in love on our 601 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:31,480 honeymoon. It was just a beautiful, 602 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:34,680 beautiful time. Cancun, the sun, the water. 603 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:36,000 It was just amazing. It was wonderful. 604 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,080 We were so in love. First year of our marriage was 605 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:42,320 just incredible. Uh huh. 606 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:46,440 What about what about now? Oh, now. 607 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:49,480 Well, I mean, I'm a reminder about our honeymoon, a reminder 608 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,240 about our first year marriage and how amazing it was. 609 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,560 That's what I do. I'm like, babe, anytime she's 610 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:57,360 mad, anytime she's frustrated, anytime she doesn't do right, 611 00:29:57,840 --> 00:29:58,720 you know what? Whatever. 612 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:00,080 I just go, hey, remember our honeymoon? 613 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:04,520 Don't forget. And that should, that should 614 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:06,720 sustain us. That should carry us in the 615 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:08,120 future because we had a mountaintop. 616 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:10,960 Remember, Remember Cancun? Remember zip lining in the 617 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,520 jungle? Yeah, So like, get over 618 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:15,840 everything else because we had that. 619 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:18,000 It's stupid. Obviously. 620 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:19,840 It's it's ridiculous to point out that way. 621 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,320 And yet as believers, right. And I remember when I got filled 622 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,480 with the Holy Spirit at 16 years old, I remember walking up a 623 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,520 youth group and the and the and the old building, you know, the 624 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,960 new, old building, whatever the old facility, the new building 625 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,720 at the old facility. And I remember Pastor Chris 626 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:37,240 laying hands on me. And I remember the power of the 627 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:39,840 Holy Spirit coming upon me. I remember being a little boy 628 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:42,480 and Dad had a guest pastor in to preach. 629 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:47,240 His name was Dallas Plemons, and I wasn't even paying attention, 630 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,000 just sitting there minding my own business, maybe picking my 631 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,720 nose, and a sweet old grandfatherly preacher. 632 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:54,560 He's sitting on the stage. He's just tired of preaching, I 633 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:56,120 guess. And he goes, Joe Michael, come 634 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,000 up here, called me up there. I've got no idea what he's 635 00:30:59,000 --> 00:30:59,480 doing. I love him. 636 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,200 I know him, I like him. And he just just did this in 637 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:04,600 front of me with his hand. He didn't cast a magic spell on 638 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,200 me. He was just being obedient to 639 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:07,560 what the Holy Spirit told him to do. 640 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,240 But when he did this, the Holy Spirit came upon me and I just 641 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:13,440 fell back and hit the ground. Nobody caught me. 642 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:14,720 We didn't have an usher ministry. 643 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,680 That was back in the day when if you fell down, you better be 644 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:19,800 falling down on the power of the Holy Ghost because your head's 645 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:24,280 going to get cracked otherwise. I've got sweet memories and 646 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,160 sweet testimonies throughout my childhood, throughout my teen 647 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:29,680 years, throughout adulthood, all the way up until this year. 648 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:31,760 I've got stuff that I can look back on just a couple of months 649 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,120 ago and go, man, that was good. Man, that was rich. 650 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,080 Praise the Lord for that. And I can't, and I'm not trying 651 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,560 to live off of it. I'm not trying to live off that 652 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,600 old bread. You find a piece of bread in the 653 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,160 toaster oven from like a few days ago, Try eating it. 654 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:51,000 It's rough, cut your mouth, it's not good. 655 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,120 But can you rejoice over a great piece of toast you had earlier 656 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:56,440 in the week? Sure had some honey butter, had 657 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,320 some jam on it, that was good. But you. 658 00:31:58,480 --> 00:31:59,800 But you can't eat it again today. 659 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,560 You need a fresh testimony. You need a fresh walk. 660 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,720 You need a fresh experience of him. 661 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:11,000 You need a fresh word from him. I want to continue to grow with 662 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,080 my wife. I want to continue to bless her. 663 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:14,960 I want to continue to have an incredible marriage. 664 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:18,720 I got the best marriage I know of and I have for a long time. 665 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:20,560 Are you bragging? I don't intend to. 666 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:22,760 I'm just being honest. I genuinely have the best 667 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,000 marriage I know of. We've worked hard at it and I'm 668 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,520 not just going well. We win. 669 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:29,840 I'm not comparing to anybody else in that sense. 670 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:32,920 I'm just going, Lord, take us to the next level, whatever that 671 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,360 looks like. More faithfulness, more love, 672 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:39,240 more respect, more glory for you, more of a picture of Christ 673 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,160 in the church. That's whatever that looks like. 674 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:43,200 Lord, take us there. I don't know how to do it, but 675 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:46,040 God, you can. We should want more in our 676 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,120 relationships with friends and family and spouse and children. 677 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:51,480 Of course, more than anything, we should want more in our 678 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:55,840 relationship with Jesus. Many of you have wonderful 679 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:59,800 experiences with the Lord. Beautiful testimonies. 680 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:01,360 I'm sure we could just testify right now. 681 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,480 Man, I remember, I remember where I was. 682 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,800 It was 1989, this happened that we rejoice in it. 683 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,880 We're not belittling it, but we're saying, well, we don't 684 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,760 live there, We're not building. We're not living there and just 685 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:14,280 building a monument and staying there. 686 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,520 We build the monuments. I praise the Lord and we move 687 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:17,920 on. What's next? 688 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:21,640 Lord, leave me from glory to glory so that I can't just stay 689 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:25,840 in the past. The most experienced in life are 690 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,360 often the most humble. We noticed this in martial arts, 691 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,400 in jiu jitsu, The guys who have rolled with her black belts, 692 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:34,560 they're like the most calm guy in the room. 693 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,640 Meanwhile, as white belts were like spastically trying to do 694 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,200 all the things, freaking out. I was rolling with a purple belt 695 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:41,720 one time. So it was white, blue, purple, 696 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:45,920 brown, black. So a purple belt is way better 697 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:47,720 than a white belt. They might sound like they're 698 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:49,880 not a big deal and the purple doesn't, that might not sound 699 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:51,840 that intimidating, but they're a big deal. 700 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:53,800 So I was rolling with a purple belt. 701 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:55,800 This was a coach when we lived in West Virginia. 702 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,280 And, and I was rolling with him one night and I'm just trying to 703 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:00,960 do all the things. And I don't think I'm spazzing 704 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:02,280 out. I don't think I'm having a freak 705 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:04,400 attack. I just think I'm trying to win. 706 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:08,400 And at one point he just, like, stops me and, like, pins me down 707 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:11,520 like a child. And he's like, hey, I'm like, 708 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,560 yeah, I'm all like, huffing and puffing out of breath. 709 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:18,920 He's like, just. And I was like, OK, like lesson, 710 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:21,719 like message received. He was just like, chill out. 711 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:25,719 He didn't say it, but he was like, hey, I was like, yes, Sir, 712 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:27,639 Sorry, Sir. And then, you know, he proceeded 713 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:30,040 to fold me up like a, you know, piece of laundry. 714 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:34,239 But those who those who don't, those who don't have anything to 715 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:37,840 prove are oftentimes the most calm and the most relaxed in any 716 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:40,040 given situation. But those who have a lot to 717 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,920 prove, the lowly white belt is fighting for his life, 718 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:44,800 scrapping, trying to make something happen. 719 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:47,360 This is this is oftentimes in all areas of life. 720 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:51,280 If I'm really insecure, then I'm tempted to run my mouth and I'm 721 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:53,600 tempted to present and I'm tempted to posture and I'm 722 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:57,360 tempted to impress you instead of having a humble life where 723 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:02,240 I'm just like, Lord, help me shut up because I am insecure. 724 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,680 And but more importantly, like bring me into security. 725 00:35:05,240 --> 00:35:08,840 Bring me into security in Christ so that it has nothing to do 726 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:11,680 with my jiu jitsu belt, so it has nothing to do with my skill 727 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:14,800 at work or anywhere else. Help me to just be secure in 728 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:18,720 Jesus and that is a place of true security. 729 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,240 Then I can truly be at rest. Not to talk a big game about 730 00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:27,200 what I did or what I'm doing even, but to just be hungry to 731 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:32,360 stay close to you. Pride looks backwards and it 732 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:35,760 boasts. Humility is happy to just stay 733 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,720 close to Jesus right now and stay silent. 734 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,640 Humility is happy that Jesus gets the glory and Jesus gets 735 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:46,200 the credit. Verse 73 after a little while, 736 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,240 the bystanders came up to Peter and said certainly you 2 are one 737 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:50,760 of them for your accent betrays you. 738 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:52,720 So he's like, they're like, man, you sound like you're from 739 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:54,360 Guinea. We know what Guinea sounds like. 740 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,200 You're a Guinea Bubba and you sound like 1. 741 00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:00,280 So this is interesting because the pressure mounts on him, but 742 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,320 the pressure does not come where we thought it would have come 743 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:03,720 from. You thought if Peter was going 744 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,960 to fold, it would have been in the garden, hundreds of 745 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:12,640 soldiers, clubs and swords. And I wonder if Peter thought 746 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:15,600 that he passed the test that Jesus warned him about in the 747 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:18,160 garden. I wonder that because he says 748 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,000 you're going to deny me and he's like never. 749 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:23,400 So he's like on edge. I will not deny Jesus. 750 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:25,800 And here comes the city. He's like don't deny him, don't 751 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:27,200 deny him, don't deny him, don't deny him. 752 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,760 He disobeys him, does what he's not supposed to do. 753 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,120 And Jesus is not in the killing ministry, not yet. 754 00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:35,840 But he pulls out the sword and he tries to kill the servant of 755 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:37,800 the high priest, cuts off his ear. 756 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:41,280 And Jesus said, Peter, I don't need your help. 757 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:46,000 I could certainly defend myself if I wanted to, But I wonder if 758 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,880 Peter thought I passed the test because I tried to kill a man 759 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,880 for him, so I'm safe there because he thought that's where 760 00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:53,800 the temptation and the testing would come from. 761 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:57,040 You don't get to pick though. You're testing your trial. 762 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:02,480 And Peter is being tested by a servant girl and then a servant 763 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:04,240 girl. People who do not have authority 764 00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:07,080 to kill him, people who do not have the power to kill him. 765 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,320 And now just regular civilians are going. 766 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:11,600 Yeah, you are with. You are with Jesus. 767 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:13,800 Your accent, man. It's obvious where you're from. 768 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:15,680 You sound like you're from Hartfield. 769 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:17,640 You sound like you're from Deltaville. 770 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:19,720 We know you're from Deltaville. You sound like Jesus from 771 00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:21,160 Deltaville. You're obviously with him. 772 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:22,920 Just own up to it, man. That's what you're doing here. 773 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:25,360 But he's denying it. He's panicked. 774 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,280 Maybe he thought he passed the test in the garden. 775 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:31,440 But you don't get to pick where your test comes from. 776 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:33,440 You don't get to pick the day of your trial. 777 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,640 It will be unexpected. And if you do not prepare to 778 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:39,760 succeed, then you are preparing to fail it. 779 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:48,040 Verse 74 Once they they really caught him in his lie, then he 780 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:51,600 began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear. 781 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:54,840 The ESV adds he began to invoke a curse on himself. 782 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:57,360 The original language does not say that he invoked the curse 783 00:37:57,360 --> 00:37:59,720 unto himself. Your English translations are 784 00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:02,720 very, very, very, very, very good. 785 00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:05,400 They're very stable. They're very trustworthy. 786 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:08,000 So in a moment like this, I don't want anyone to think, oh, 787 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,840 no, it's all, it's all unpredictable. 788 00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:14,000 No, they're very subtle things at times that we can point out 789 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:16,440 and realize that the English translators, they were trying to 790 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,960 be helpful, but in moments like this, they went a little too far 791 00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:22,680 with their helpfulness. He began to invoke a curse, but 792 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:25,760 the original language does not say who he invoked the curse on. 793 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:31,320 And that has LED theologians to speculate and go, dear God, who 794 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,560 did he invoke the curse on? Because there's three 795 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:37,320 possibilities. Did he invoke the curse on 796 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:41,120 himself and say, you know, if I'm lying, God strike me dead 797 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:43,600 kind of thing? Did he invoke the curse on the 798 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:46,000 people who are accusing him of being with Jesus? 799 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:50,600 Is saying whatever curse you all for your lie and your slander 800 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:55,040 about me or the worst of all the possibilities, did he refer to 801 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:58,400 Christ as the one being a cursed and as an effort to separate 802 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,760 himself from him even more and to say I'm not with him, I'm not 803 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:04,560 with him, I don't love him, I don't care about him. 804 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:08,120 That's just some guy who's clearly a cursed by God under 805 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:12,360 the judgment of the high priest. That's the most tragic one to 806 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,000 imagine. We don't know because the 807 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:17,080 scripture doesn't tell us, but we know it called down curses 808 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:20,960 and then began to swear. I do not know the man. 809 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:27,440 This is how far sin can go. It progresses, it escalates, 810 00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:32,240 James says in chapter 1, verse 14 through 15 in the book of 811 00:39:32,240 --> 00:39:34,840 James. But each person is tempted when 812 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,320 he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 813 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:43,640 Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, 814 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:47,880 and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. 815 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:50,960 So it's that lion cup I told you about first. 816 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:53,200 It's born. Oh, this is manageable. 817 00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:56,480 I'm in control of this thing. That's the deception. 818 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:59,560 But when it's full grown, it will get, it will bring forth 819 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:01,880 death, but that's the temptation. 820 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:03,200 It hasn't brought forth death yet. 821 00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:06,560 I've been living with this sin all these years, this continued 822 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,880 habitual, ongoing sin like all these years. 823 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:12,560 I think I kind of have it under control. 824 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:14,920 It's there's nothing worse coming from it. 825 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,480 That is the deception. That is how you know you're 826 00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:19,360 ensnared in sin. That's how you know you're a 827 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:21,720 slave. If you think like that about any 828 00:40:21,720 --> 00:40:24,680 particular sin in your life, you got Jim Michael. 829 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,000 I think you're right about some stuff. 830 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,200 Prep preacher, I'll give you I'm I'm with you. 831 00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:31,240 I can think of a lot of sins where that's true, but this 832 00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:34,880 other one, I assure you, I assure you, is different. 833 00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:38,320 That's how you can guarantee that you're a slave to sin. 834 00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:43,120 Peter has experienced this awful progression, though he is now 835 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:48,080 effectively saying I am not Jesus's, I do not belong to 836 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:51,520 Jesus, I am not a Christian, I do not love Jesus. 837 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:57,480 That's wild, that's wild. Hours earlier, I love you, I'll 838 00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:01,840 die for you, hours not like you. See over his life how he walked 839 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:03,840 away from the Lord. He separated from fellowship 840 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:05,400 with the church and all this other stuff. 841 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:11,160 Ours. Immediately the rooster crows. 842 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:13,200 This is actually the mercy of God. 843 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:17,920 I'm so thankful that Jesus put this here and that that Jesus 844 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:21,520 prophesied that it would be this way, that Jesus saw ahead, that 845 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:24,400 it would happen this way, because this is mercy and this 846 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:28,000 is an alarm for Peter. This is God interrupting him and 847 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,000 calling him back. God warns people. 848 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:33,640 God has warned you and your sin. He has warned me and my sin. 849 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:36,920 He's given us warning lights. He's given us red flags. 850 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:38,280 He's given us all kinds of things. 851 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:42,200 The Scripture tells us that with every temptation that comes, not 852 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:43,560 to say that it's provided by the Lord. 853 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:45,080 James makes that very clear as well. 854 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:47,440 The Lord doesn't give us temptations. 855 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:50,720 The Lord gives us tests. It's a different category. 856 00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:51,800 I don't have time to teach them out. 857 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,120 Temptation to send, though, is what we're referring to here. 858 00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:57,680 When we're tempted to send, the scripture says that with every 859 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:01,800 temptation, the Lord provides along with it a way out, a way 860 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,360 of escape. That means every single time 861 00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:09,040 I've ever sinned in my entire life, I wanted to. 862 00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:12,800 That means every single time you've ever sinned in your 863 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:18,880 entire life, you willed to sin. Because in that same room where 864 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:21,440 the sin was, where the temptation was, the Lord stood 865 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:23,640 over here and said this is the way. 866 00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:27,160 There's a way out. Every time we sinned and we 867 00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:29,400 thought it was inevitable, I was set up for failure. 868 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:32,200 I was set up for success. Well, yes, you were set up by 869 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:34,480 the enemy, most likely by your own stupidity. 870 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:35,960 In addition to that, mine as well. 871 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:38,480 But the Lord has always provided a way of escape. 872 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:42,080 Every sin I've ever committed, I didn't have to commit, but I 873 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:44,640 wanted to, and I willed to, so I did. 874 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:50,200 Hallelujah. God is rich in mercy and he 875 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:53,720 brings alarm bells and he brings Roosters and he brings anything 876 00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:57,480 else to snap us to attention, to warn his people. 877 00:42:57,480 --> 00:43:02,000 He warned Cain ahead of time. He said sin is crouching at the 878 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:04,600 door and he wants to devour you, but you must master it. 879 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:06,120 And then Cain murdered his brother. 880 00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:10,000 He sent Nathan to David after David had sinned. 881 00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:13,120 David commits adultery with Bathsheba. 882 00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:16,240 He murders Uriah. The man who loved David and was 883 00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:20,960 faithful to David murders him, and he sends Nathan to the king. 884 00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:23,520 And Nathan tells the story. There was a man who had many 885 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:27,200 sheep, but he took the poor. The poor man who only had one 886 00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:28,880 took his sheep and slaughtered it. 887 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:31,160 What should we do with that man? David said, and bring him here, 888 00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:33,920 he should be killed. And Nathan said, you are that 889 00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:38,680 man, which is a very wise and clever and respectful way to 890 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:46,000 rebuke a king. But God brought that warning and 891 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:49,240 David was crushed by it. Unfortunately, David still had a 892 00:43:49,240 --> 00:43:53,080 lot of consequence for that sin. Forgiveness is real. 893 00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:56,040 God gives these merciful callbacks. 894 00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:59,480 The rooster brings Peter back. He remembers the words of Jesus. 895 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:02,480 God does this through through all kinds of means for us. 896 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:03,960 He's done it for you through sermons. 897 00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:06,880 He's done it through you for for you through conversations. 898 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,600 He's done it through conviction. Maybe it was a launchpad. 899 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:11,920 Maybe it was a ladies night. Maybe it was a prayer group. 900 00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:14,520 He calls you back. He does not abandon you. 901 00:44:14,520 --> 00:44:17,440 He is the God who pursues you. He's the God who loves you. 902 00:44:17,720 --> 00:44:20,640 He's the guy who keeps giving you opportunities because he is 903 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:23,280 faithful and kind, because he's good, not because you're good, 904 00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:26,680 but because he's good. That's so loving, that's so 905 00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:28,520 faithful. I can't imagine the betrayal 906 00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:32,240 that Jesus felt in that moment from Peter looking over at him, 907 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:34,040 knowing it was coming, but still the hurt. 908 00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:36,560 Like, man, I got nobody here for me. 909 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:38,960 Nobody, you know, nobody's here for me. 910 00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:41,320 Peter's here. And then Peter denies him. 911 00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:44,080 Peter denies him. Now Peter's calling down curses 912 00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:45,960 and Jesus looks at him. Peter denies him again. 913 00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:48,720 Peter goes out and he weeps bitterly. 914 00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:56,280 We're closing. Peter's crushed by his sin. 915 00:44:56,680 --> 00:44:58,440 I think he's crushed by his betrayal. 916 00:44:58,480 --> 00:44:59,920 I think he's crushed by his shame. 917 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,240 But I don't think Peter is repentant in this moment. 918 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:05,600 Why not? Well, because repentance is a 919 00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:08,960 change of direction and a change of action. 920 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:12,680 I think Peter feels remorse and there is a massive difference 921 00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:17,440 between remorse and repentance. Oh, he was so sad and he was 922 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:22,200 crying that whoever the preacher on TV, he was crying and he was 923 00:45:22,200 --> 00:45:25,760 sad and he was crying and he was sad and he was so sorry that he 924 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:29,560 had stolen, you know, $400,000 from the church and he was 925 00:45:29,560 --> 00:45:32,840 apologetic about it. I'm waiting to hear the 926 00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:35,920 repayment plan with interest. I'm waiting to hear it. 927 00:45:36,840 --> 00:45:40,200 His tear tears are you're ashamed, you feel sad, you got 928 00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:42,080 caught, you're ostracized by the community. 929 00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:43,880 All right and appropriate things for your preacher. 930 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:47,240 I'm waiting to hear the restitution plan so you can 931 00:45:47,240 --> 00:45:51,040 actually pay it back like Zacchaeus did. 932 00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:56,320 Jesus said Zacchaeus, I'm coming to your house today and 933 00:45:56,320 --> 00:45:58,520 Zacchaeus was so blessed by the presence of Jesus. 934 00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:01,720 When the presence of Jesus came into Zacchaeus his life, He says 935 00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:05,560 I'm going to pay back everything I've ever stolen from anyone and 936 00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:07,200 I'm going to repay it back seven times. 937 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:10,640 That's repentance. That's saying I got Jesus. 938 00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:13,840 I care about nothing else instead of I feel so sad. 939 00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:18,600 Everyone be nice to me again. Now Jim Michael commits some 940 00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:20,480 catastrophic sin and I come in here. 941 00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:23,520 I'm so sorry we forgive you. We're Christians. 942 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:25,840 We love to forgive. We love to pour the grace of God 943 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:29,160 on you pastor. Also, let's talk about what 944 00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:31,960 repentance looks like. Let's talk about what making 945 00:46:31,960 --> 00:46:34,640 this thing right would look like for you to the degree that 946 00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:36,960 you're able instead of I'm really sorry, guys. 947 00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:39,920 You can tell by my tears. My tears have to be evidence for 948 00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:42,760 you enough, right? Maybe I'm a great actor. 949 00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:48,280 Maybe I'm super manipulative. Repentance looks like something 950 00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:49,880 and Peter doesn't look like anything. 951 00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:52,360 He runs from the presence of Jesus, not into it. 952 00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:55,760 He doesn't run to Jesus and say I'm with him, I'm sorry. 953 00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:57,760 I'm his. You can't take my Lord, or you 954 00:46:57,760 --> 00:46:59,680 can take my Lord, but my heart's ripped out. 955 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:02,520 That would have been repentance, but Peter's just remorseful 956 00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:04,480 right now. Praise God. 957 00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:05,560 The Lord doesn't leave him there. 958 00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:09,200 What a blessing. But there is a difference 959 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:13,640 between remorse and repentance. Remorse is sorrow or shame over 960 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:17,440 being caught. Repentance turns back to God. 961 00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:22,760 You continue to wrong your spouse. 962 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:23,920 You continue to wrong your spouse. 963 00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:25,680 I said I'm sorry. I said I'm sorry. 964 00:47:25,800 --> 00:47:28,240 I said I'm sorry. You're sorry means nothing 965 00:47:28,240 --> 00:47:30,800 anymore. Your sorry is worthless. 966 00:47:31,880 --> 00:47:33,720 Why? Because there's no repentance. 967 00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:36,960 I offended you, I offended you. I offended you. 968 00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:39,080 Oh, I'm sorry I offended you. And I'm still going in the same 969 00:47:39,080 --> 00:47:42,240 direction. Here's how I'm going to fix it 970 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:44,920 here, my wife. Here's how I'm going to love you 971 00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:47,080 better. Here's the deliberate loving 972 00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:49,520 actions I would take the disrespectful wife. 973 00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:51,760 Disrespectful to her husband. Disrespectful to her husband. 974 00:47:51,760 --> 00:47:54,280 I'm sorry, but you're still going in the disrespectful 975 00:47:54,280 --> 00:47:57,480 direction. Repentance would be honor and 976 00:47:57,480 --> 00:48:00,920 respect your husband. I'm disobedient to my parents. 977 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:03,560 I'm disobedient to my parents. I'm sorry. 978 00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:05,320 I'm sorry. I'm sorry. 979 00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:07,240 No, you're sorry. It's worthless. 980 00:48:08,040 --> 00:48:10,400 Your repentance, though, Here's how I'm going to obey. 981 00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:13,040 Here's how I'm going to honor my father and mother appropriately. 982 00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:14,640 Here's what I'll do to make that look right. 983 00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:17,560 I'm sorry I haven't been doing my job at work. 984 00:48:17,680 --> 00:48:21,400 OK, so fix it. That's what repentance looks 985 00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:23,360 like. I said I'm sorry. 986 00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:25,800 Nobody cares. It's just a word. 987 00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:28,880 Action matters. And if you couple them together, 988 00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:30,880 that's beautiful. I'm not cynical. 989 00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:33,680 I'll accept an apology, and I'll give you some time to make 990 00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:36,480 things right. I'm not harsh or unfair or 991 00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:39,800 unkind, But I do understand words, and I do understand 992 00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:43,320 definitions, and I do understand people, and I do understand how 993 00:48:43,320 --> 00:48:49,120 my own flesh works. Jesus is so faithful. 994 00:48:49,120 --> 00:48:51,680 He's so kind. When Jesus is resurrected, he's 995 00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:53,280 walking with Peter along the seashore. 996 00:48:53,280 --> 00:48:55,640 Do you remember what he does? Peter, do you love me? 997 00:48:56,680 --> 00:48:58,920 Lord, I love you. That was one. 998 00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:03,440 Peter, do you love me? Lord, you know that I love you. 999 00:49:04,040 --> 00:49:08,440 That's two. Peter, do you love me? 1000 00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:12,880 Lord, you know that I love you. That's three. 1001 00:49:13,440 --> 00:49:17,080 Jesus restored Peter, and he gave him the chance to give 3 1002 00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:21,200 affirmative I love you. Jesus's to counteract the three 1003 00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:22,880 denials that Peter had to live with. 1004 00:49:23,560 --> 00:49:26,880 So that's Jesus's sweetness to Peter as he walked along the 1005 00:49:26,880 --> 00:49:29,240 beach with him. He says, Peter, feed my sheep. 1006 00:49:30,080 --> 00:49:31,760 That's what I want you to do. Do you love me? 1007 00:49:31,760 --> 00:49:35,000 I love you so much. Feed my sheep, take care of my 1008 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:38,200 church. I'm going to heaven and I need 1009 00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:40,000 you to keep working. I need you to keep building the 1010 00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:42,360 Kingdom. It will look like something. 1011 00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:45,800 These words on this beach today, they're they bless me, Peter. 1012 00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:48,440 They really do. And also here's the action that 1013 00:49:48,440 --> 00:49:49,960 you're going to walk out to show your love for me. 1014 00:49:49,960 --> 00:49:54,760 You're going to feed my lambs. God is so kind. 1015 00:49:54,760 --> 00:49:58,000 He wants to restore you. He doesn't want to condemn you. 1016 00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:03,560 When you hear that rooster call, when you hear those warnings 1017 00:50:03,560 --> 00:50:07,560 from the Holy Spirit, that is your moment. 1018 00:50:07,560 --> 00:50:10,360 That is your opportunity. When you hear of someone else's 1019 00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:12,640 fall, what happens in your heart? 1020 00:50:12,640 --> 00:50:14,000 Do you think I could never do that? 1021 00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:17,320 Do you feel nothing? You feel relief that it wasn't 1022 00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:18,720 you? Do you have a smug sense that 1023 00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:20,640 they got caught because they don't play the game as well of 1024 00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:22,760 you? The right response is humility 1025 00:50:22,760 --> 00:50:24,960 and compassion for those who are caught in sin. 1026 00:50:25,520 --> 00:50:28,600 Lord, keep me close to you. When I hear pastors and 1027 00:50:28,600 --> 00:50:31,240 ministers who've fallen into scandal, I don't go. 1028 00:50:32,640 --> 00:50:35,720 How could you I go? Dear Jesus, please, please, 1029 00:50:35,720 --> 00:50:38,320 please, please. I got, I'm not even thinking 1030 00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:40,680 about them honestly. I immediately go to me selfishly 1031 00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:43,840 and I go, God, please, please, Lord, keep me close to you. 1032 00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:49,760 Just keep me close to You. We should grieve for the fallen, 1033 00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:51,560 and then we should examine ourselves and pray. 1034 00:50:51,560 --> 00:50:54,720 Lord, please keep me close. Then when we pray that we must 1035 00:50:54,720 --> 00:50:57,160 also obey the warnings and the promptings that He will give us 1036 00:50:57,160 --> 00:50:59,480 to keep us close. When he tells you to stop 1037 00:50:59,480 --> 00:51:01,840 watching that show, when he tells you to stop listening to 1038 00:51:01,840 --> 00:51:04,200 that music, when he tells you to stop fellowshipping with that 1039 00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:08,080 person, those are mercies. Peter was given those. 1040 00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:10,840 He was given all the opportunities to win. 1041 00:51:10,840 --> 00:51:15,880 And when he failed again, Jesus restored him. 1042 00:51:16,640 --> 00:51:18,360 That's what Jesus does. That's what he did through the 1043 00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:19,560 cross. Be encouraged. 1044 00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:24,160 Jesus uses imperfect Peter. He uses imperfect you. 1045 00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:29,880 He uses imperfect me, still imperfect Peter, still imperfect 1046 00:51:29,880 --> 00:51:32,040 later. But he still wrote two books in 1047 00:51:32,040 --> 00:51:33,680 the New Testament. He preached on the day of 1048 00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:36,920 Pentecost with power. He was used by the Lord. 1049 00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:40,480 He is one of the 12 apostles of the Lamb who will be an eternity 1050 00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:46,760 judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Where does that leave us? 1051 00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:50,560 Lord, keep us close. Lord, we trust you. 1052 00:51:50,920 --> 00:51:54,120 We need you for everything. We need you to even help us to 1053 00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:56,880 love you more. We need you to even help us to 1054 00:51:56,880 --> 00:52:00,880 care. God, I pray for all these 1055 00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:04,120 precious people, the men, the women, the young men, the young 1056 00:52:04,120 --> 00:52:07,640 women, the boys and the girls, the babies. 1057 00:52:09,560 --> 00:52:11,640 God, I pray for your preserving power. 1058 00:52:12,560 --> 00:52:15,640 God, I pray for power to obey, that you would fill us with 1059 00:52:15,640 --> 00:52:19,680 strength and a desire to receive all the power that you make 1060 00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:22,760 available. With every sin and temptation 1061 00:52:22,760 --> 00:52:25,160 that comes against us, You also provide a way of escape. 1062 00:52:25,560 --> 00:52:27,320 There is always a door that you hold open. 1063 00:52:30,720 --> 00:52:33,280 Lord, You're revealing that door to people right now, people who 1064 00:52:33,280 --> 00:52:35,840 have been ensnared and sinned, people who have thought that 1065 00:52:35,840 --> 00:52:38,720 they had their lion cub tamed and well trained. 1066 00:52:39,560 --> 00:52:41,760 Lord, you're going to bring them such a mercy and a deliverance 1067 00:52:41,760 --> 00:52:44,600 from that thing that they would kill it. 1068 00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:47,040 Kill it when they still think it's cute. 1069 00:52:47,040 --> 00:52:48,800 Kill it when they still think it's precious. 1070 00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:51,680 Kill it when they still think it brings comfort and joy into 1071 00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:55,240 their lives. You'll give them the strength, 1072 00:52:56,120 --> 00:52:59,280 the wisdom, and the holiness to do it. 1073 00:53:00,880 --> 00:53:04,920 Lord Jesus, we thank you for your cross, the perfect Passover 1074 00:53:04,920 --> 00:53:09,880 lamb whose blood can be applied to our hearts so we can be 1075 00:53:09,880 --> 00:53:13,960 saved. Your innocence given to us, our 1076 00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:19,160 guilt given to you. We thank you for your love and 1077 00:53:19,160 --> 00:53:22,320 your kindness towards us. Bless and strengthen your people 1078 00:53:22,320 --> 00:53:26,120 today as we go and feast together, as we enjoy the 1079 00:53:26,120 --> 00:53:27,640 beautiful weather that you've provided. 1080 00:53:29,120 --> 00:53:30,640 We thank you for this fellowship. 1081 00:53:30,640 --> 00:53:34,040 We thank you for one another in Jesus name. 1082 00:53:34,040 --> 00:53:37,880 We love you now. The Lord bless you and keep you. 1083 00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:42,320 The Lord make his face shine down upon you and be gracious to 1084 00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:44,600 you. The Lord lift up his countenance 1085 00:53:44,600 --> 00:53:49,400 upon you and give you great peace in Jesus name, Amen.