A New Beginning presents a fascinating book about heaven from Pastor Greg Laurie. I began an extensive study of the topic of heaven. What is it like? What will we do there? Will we see our loved ones again?
Short answer yes, if they're Christians. But I've written about this in detail in a book called As It Is in Heaven.
So if you've had questions about heaven, and I think we all do, I think you ought to order a copy of this book, As It Is in Heaven. Get your copy at harvest.org. Simon Peter. He had moments of incredible bravery and also moments of outright fear. And that's what makes him so relatable.
Everything he went through, we say, That's like me. Today, Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to the Gospel of Luke to see how we can avoid Peter's failures but emulate his successes. His greatest test would lead to his greatest trust in God. And we have this story here to remind us that God gives second chances. This is the day.
And when the lost are found, this is the day for a new beginning. Ames sweetest sound. But can you hear when the angels are singing? This is the day, the day when I begin. The Bible teaches us how to think and how to behave.
and we see it demonstrated in the lives of the heroes of our faith. They were people of commitment and people of action. And today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us focus on one particular biblical action figure. to see the steps that lead to spiritual failure so we can avoid them. Peter sometimes showed us what to do and sometimes what not to do.
But the takeaway lessons are significant. This is the day, the day when life begins. I want to talk to you about Simon Peter. He was hopelessly human just like us. There's no more relatable person probably in all of the Bible than Peter.
And you wonder, why would God choose someone like Peter? Because he failed in a spectacular way. He openly denied that he knew Jesus three times, yet Jesus chose him to be one of his apostles, and not only that, but to in effect be the leader of the apostles. Why would God choose a loser when He could choose a winner? Another way to put it, why would God choose you or me?
Well, Jesus did not choose Peter because of his perfection. He chose him because of his potential. And he did mess up. And maybe I'm talking to somebody right now who has messed up horribly in life. You've said something you wish you had not said.
You've done something you wish you had not done, but here's what you need to know. Failure doesn't have to be the end of your story. God gives second chances, and third ones, and fourth ones, and on it goes. Peter had his ups and downs. He had his highs and lows.
But the worst of all was when he openly denied the Lord. And that's what I would like to focus on for a few moments. This brings us to the first step to Peter's fall. It was self-confidence. The first step to Peter's fall was self-confidence.
Matthew 26:33. Peter answered and said, Even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble.
So Jesus says, One of you is going to betray me. And they all said, is it me, Lord? Is it me? But Peter thought this is a moment to boast. Even if all deny you, says Peter, I will never deny you, James and John, sons of thunder.
I don't know about them. Matthew, don't forget he used to collude with the Roman government. I don't know if you can trust that guy. But you can depend on me. And then Jesus says, Well, since you brought it up, Peter.
Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you knew me. Peter says, No, Lord, I will never deny you.
Now, that might sound commendable that Peter is boasting of his love for God, but actually, he was contradicting Jesus.
So self-competence. The Bible says, let him that thinks he stands, take heed, lest he fall. Peter's second step down was a result of prayerlessness. Peter wasn't praying when he should have been. Because now we find ourselves in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus is getting closer to his death on the cross. He knows what's coming. and he's under intense pressure. In fact, we read that he cried to the Father, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.
And Dr. Luke points out, he sweat as it were great drops of blood. What does that mean?
Some medical experts think that that may have been a description of what is called hematridrosis. Hemotridrosis is a condition you can have When you're under intense stress and pressure, You can have blood mixed with your perspiration.
So you're effectively sweating blood. Jesus was sweating blood. Because being omniscient, knowing the future, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Knowing the torturous things they would do to him, knowing that he would be nailed to a cross. And worst of all, knowing that he who was sinless and holy would have to bear everything that was sinful and unholy as he bore the sins of the world.
He recoiled and he said, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass. And by the way, he didn't just say it quietly, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass. The Bible says he screamed it out. And he screamed it repeatedly, Father! If it's possible, let this cup pass from me.
So he asked one thing of Peter, James, and John. He said to them, can you guys just watch with me for one hour? And then as he's Dealing with this horrible Thing that's about to happen. He comes back and he finds them asleep. He goes, guys, come on.
Watch and pray. See, because of the self-confidence, they didn't think they needed to pray. But they should have been praying. Here's the problem: they were slumbering and sleeping when they should have been present and praying.
So the second step down. was prayerlessness. You see, Peter had no idea that a storm was brewing. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine his world as he knew it was about to change within minutes because. Here comes Judas Iscariot.
with the temple guard. ready to arrest Jesus. And Peter should have been praying. And that was a sin of omission. You know, there are sins of commission and omission.
A sin of commission is when you do what you should not do. A sin of omission is when you don't do what you should do. The Bible says to him that knows to do good and does not do it, To him, it is sin.
So to not pray. Can be a sin. Number three, Peter fell because he trusted in human efforts instead of God's power.
So here they are now in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here comes Judas and the temple guard. To arrest Jesus, and here's what happened next: Matthew 26 and verse 51, we read these words as they're approaching. Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest's slave. And Jesus said to Peter, put your sword in its place.
Take the sword will perish by the sword. Don't you think I can now pray to my father? You know, provide me with 12 legions of angels.
Now, imagine this scene. And in a way, I sort of admire Peter and understand what he did, but it wasn't the right thing. Here comes Judas, one of their own. He betrays Jesus. Jesus sees Judas and says, friend, why have you come?
One last chance to repent. Judas betrays him of all things with a kiss. In fact, it's implied in the original language. It was multiple kisses. Kissed them over and over.
He told the temple guard: the guy I kissed, that's Jesus. And now they come rushing in to arrest Jesus. Peter is so angry, he pulls out his sword and he starts swinging, and off comes the ear of the high priest's servant. Lands on the ground. Jesus stops.
reaches down, picks up the ear. And heals it. If someone came at me like that and was arresting me and their ear happened to come off, I'd just say, I don't know, it's down there somewhere. Oh, here it is. I wouldn't have healed him.
I said, yeah, you get what you deserve. Loser. Not Jesus. The last miracle Christ performed. Was covering the blunder of one of his disciples and healing the ear of a man that wanted.
to kill him. But see, this is the problem with Peter. He was doing it through human efforts. He was doing it in his own strength. The problem with Peter is he was boasting when he should have been listening, sleeping when he should have been praying, and now he's fighting when he should have been surrendering.
He was fighting with the wrong kind of weaponry. This was a spiritual battle, but he missed that opportunity. But Jesus covered for him, bringing us to the next step of Peter. warming himself by the enemy's fire. Go over to Matthew 26, verse 69.
So Peter sat outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him, saying, You also were with Jesus of Galilee. He denied it. Before them all saying, I don't know what you're saying. And when he had gone to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those that were there, This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied it with an oath, saying, I do not know the man.
A little later. Those who stood by came and said to Peter, surely you're one of them, for your speech betrays you. And Peter began to curse and swear, saying, I don't know the man. Immediately a rooster crow. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him before the rooster crows, you'll deny me three times.
And he went out and wept bitterly. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everyone, I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus. Think of it as a harvest version of Netflix. We have all of our resources in one place.
We have our movies like Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon, Johnny Cash the Redemption of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope, and much more. Then we have our television program, daily devotions, and much more.
So go and download the Harvest Plus app.
Well, Pastor Greg has brought us to the lowest point in Peter's life. In moments he'll commit a sin that echoes through time. Let's continue.
So here he's now warming himself by the enemy's fire. He was cold. He was disoriented. He was afraid. And he sees this fire, and he's standing there with the wrong people of the wrong place, and he's about to do the wrong thing.
And his first denial happens, then his second, and then his third.
Now after his first denial, you'd think you'd say, hey, are there any roosters around here? Think Jesus said something about on the rooster, right? You know, and then he denies them again. By the way, a period of time passed between each of these denials. But here's what's interesting: one of them says, you were with them, your speech betrays you.
What she was saying is you have the Galilean accent. You know, when you travel around the country or around the world for that matter, you notice people have different accents, right? If you're in the South, it's like, hey, how y'all doing? If you're in the New York, it's like, whoa, what are you looking at me? You want some of this?
Where do you get some coffee? You know, I'll talk to someone. Where can I get some coffee? I go, You're from New York? How'd you know?
The way he said coffee.
So we have different accents, different ways we say things from different places. People tell me, that I have a California accent. I said, there is no California accent. They go, oh, no, there is. You've got the California accent, whatever.
I don't ever say that, but. I guess we have an accent too. But really it was a put-down too. Because in effect, in Jerusalem, they thought of themselves as sophisticated and educated and very religious and very devout. And the people in Galilee, they're like living in the styx, the backwood people, you know.
And they sort of thought less of them. Oh, you've got the Galilean accent. Obviously, you're not really educated. You're not sophisticated. It was a put-down.
You've got that accent. And then he comes to his next denial. And Luke's gospel tells us there was time that elapsed between these denials, which means that he had plenty of opportunities. to get this right. But he went further and further into sin.
And in his last denial, it's really sad. Because it says he began to curse and swear.
Now, does this mean that Peter swore like a sailor? He was one. But it actually doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean he used profanity. When it says he cursed and swore, It meant he took an oath.
As if to say, I swear to God I never knew Jesus. And the worst imaginable version of taking the Lord's name in vain, Peter took an oath, swearing to God he never knew Jesus, the rooster crows. And then the Bible says, and Jesus looked at Peter. Wait, what's going on?
So here he is by the fire. He utters his third denial, the rooster crows, and they're moving Christ from one place to another, and he makes momentary eye contact with Peter. Can you see it? And the glow of the fire? What kind of look do you think Jesus gave Peter?
You think he'd looked at him and rolled his eyes like Really? I think it was a look of compassion and love. Don't forget, Jesus predicted this. He knew Peter was going to fail. He knew he was going to fall short.
And Peter went out. and wept bitterly. Oh man. He says, that's it. That's the end for me.
Did he fail? Yes. Did he deny the Lord? Again, yes. Was he still a believer?
Absolutely. But he was a fallen believer. But don't forget what Jesus said. He said When you return, you'll strengthen your brothers. Peter, you're going to deny me.
Not once, not twice, three times. But you're going to return and when you return you'll strengthen your brothers In other words, the setback was temporary. Peter would be back. His setback would ultimately become a setup for greater things. His mess would turn into a message.
His test would be a turn. Would be a testimony, and his disappointment would lead to a divine appointment. His greatest test would lead to his greatest trust in God. And we have this story here to remind us that God gives second chances. I mean, what a hard lesson to learn.
Peter, you know what you're going through? They're going to be talking about it in church 2,000 years from now.
Okay, so. Everyone's going to know this story. But this isn't the end of the story. Because we're also going to know what happened after. And they're going to know that I forgave you.
Because here's what happened: after Christ is crucified. He rises again three days later. And then the message goes out. Go tell the disciples, and who? Does anyone know?
Peter. Go tell the disciples and Peter he's risen. Not go tell the disciples and Peter, James, and John, or go tell the disciples and Mary and Martha, or go tell the disciples. No, tell the disciples and Peter. In other words, I want you to send a special message to Peter.
And here's what it is: I'm risen. And I'll see you in Galilee.
So don't miss the appointment. Isn't that great that God gives second chances to all of us? And He did that for Peter, and He will do it for us as well. Simon Peter. a man of contradictions.
He was praised and honored. and even rebuked by Jesus himself. One moment he's walking on water, the next moment he's sinking. He had moments of incredible bravery and also moments of outright fear. And that's what makes him so relatable.
everything he went through. We say, that's like me. That's what I do, exactly. That's why he's here in the Bible. To show you that God uses flawed people.
God picks losers, so to speak, and turns them into winners ultimately. And can restore you no matter what you have done. God can take your ending and turn it into a beginning. You see, Jesus invaded Peter's world. What was Peter's world?
Fishing, all about fishing.
So what does Jesus do? He steps right into his world. Hello. You want to catch some fish? Do what I tell you.
Jesus did that for many people. How about that woman caught in the act of adultery? in a horrible predicament. They said, the law says she should be stoned. What do you say?
He clears the room. Let him that's without sin cast the first stone. They leap from the oldest to the youngest. And he turns to her and says, Woman, where are your accusers? Go and sin no more.
Then there's that man that was disabled and he couldn't move and He had heard a rumor that if an angel touched the water, he was near, that he could be healed if he got there first. And one day Jesus himself shows up. Ask them a question. Do you really? Want to get well?
You want to change? And the man said, yes, and Jesus healed him right there. He invaded his world. And God invaded my world, didn't he invade yours? I mean the last thing I planned on doing On that day in 1970, at the age of 17, he was becoming a Christian.
I was going the wrong way in life, making bad decisions, using drugs, hanging out with a. Lowest of the low lives. And no one even engaged me with the gospel. No one took the time to say, Greg, here's how you can become a Christian. I remember I would hang around at the fun zone down at Newport by the ferry.
And I would lean up against the wall and my hair would hang in my eyes. Use your imagination. And I had a tough guy persona. And people wouldn't come up and approach me, and they would come up with their little religious tracts and booklets, and they'd give them out to people, and they'd walk up to me and just kind of walk away. And I'd say, give me one, and I'd shove up my pocket.
Like, I don't care. Give it to me. Then I would go home and read them. And I tried to figure them out. I had a drawer.
in my little room that I lived in. And I would put all this religious literature in this drawer. It was sort of like my God drawer. I didn't know what any of it meant, and every now and then I would empty it on my bed and I would sit there and try to figure it out. How can I know God?
I needed someone to tell me. No one told me.
So Jesus just personally invaded my world. And I'm walking across my high school campus. And I come across a group of Christians singing about their faith and I hear the gospel for the first time. It wasn't even presented to me. I was eavesdropping on it.
And then I realized what Jesus Christ could do for me, and my life changed. Because he invaded my world and he's ready to invade your world right now. in the best possible way. No matter who you are. Say, well, I've tried to make my life better.
I've tried to improve myself, and you've failed, haven't you? See, you need God. And you need to call out to the Lord, and you'll be amazed at what He can do despite the predicament you find yourself in now. Despite the fact that you've made a mess out of your life, as I said earlier, He can turn your mess into a message. He can transform you, but you must come to him and say, God, help me.
That's what Peter did. And Jesus changed them. And maybe there's somebody I'm talking to right now that. You're a Christian. But you have denied the Lord in some way, shape, or form.
You've fallen short. done something he wished you had not done. You've said something you wished you had not said, well. God can forgive you, but you must come to him. We're going to close now in prayer.
And I'm going to extend an invitation for anybody here or wherever you are. Christ is ready to come into your life. You see, he went to that cross and he died. for your sins and he rose again from the dead. And he's alive and he's here and he's ready to come into your life.
Jesus stands at the door of our life and he knocks and says, If we'll hear his voice and open the door, he will come in. If you've never asked Jesus to come into your life, you can do it right here, right now. Or maybe you've fallen away from the Lord and you need to come back to Him. You can do that as well. Let's pray.
Father, I pray that you will speak to every person. wherever they are. If they don't know you, I pray that your Holy Spirit... will convict and convince them of their sin and bring them to yourself. Help them to see their need for you.
We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. An important prayer from Pastor Greg Laurie today here on A New Beginning. And if you'd like to make that kind of change in your relationship with God, Pastor Greg wants to help you do that right now. As you've been listening to this today, Maybe you've heard another voice.
By that I mean, yeah, you heard me say a few things, but you heard God's voice speak to you. Deep in the recesses of your heart, and it suddenly dawned on you: this is what I need, or to state it more accurately, this is who I need. I need Jesus and I want Jesus, but maybe you don't know how to make that connection. Let me help you. God is only a prayer way.
He stands at the door of your heart and he knocks. And Jesus says, If you'll hear his voice and open the door, he'll come in. Let me help you open the door, so to speak, of your heart as you invite Jesus to be your Savior and Lord. Here's what I would like you to do. I'd like you to stop what you're doing.
And I want you to pray a prayer after me. I'll lead you in this prayer. And as you pray it, God will hear you. Pray this after me right now if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner.
And I am sorry for my sin. and I need your forgiveness right now. Would you come into my heart, my life, as saviour As God as friend? I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me.
and accepting me and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. I know that was a relatively short prayer. Maybe you felt something as you prayed it.
Maybe you felt nothing. That doesn't really matter. Because God's Word says, These things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. It doesn't say, so you may think you have it, or you may hope you have it if God's in a good mood. No, that you can know it.
And I want you to know if you pray that prayer in a minute, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come into your life.
So congratulations. You're now a Christian.
Now, continue to follow the Lord. Yeah, and to help you, we'd like to send you one of the most valuable resources you could have as someone just beginning to walk with the Lord. is Pastor Gregg's New Believer's Bible. There are scores of study helps that'll answer many of the questions you might have and get you started off right in your new relationship with the Lord.
So get in touch and ask for it. We'll send it free of charge. Just call 1-800-821-3300. That's our 24-hour phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Or write a new beginning, box 4000.
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Thank you for your prayers and for prayerfully considering how God might lead you to help tangibly. Online, you'll find us at harvest.org. And there you'll see the way we'd like to thank you for your donation right now. That's harvest.org. Or write us at a new beginning, box four thousand, Riverside, California, nine two five one four.
or call us at 1-800-821-3300. We're here around the clock to take your call again at 1-800-821-3300.
Well, next time, Pastor Greg shows us the remarkable faith of a mother who wouldn't give up.
Some strong encouragement coming our way. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.
