And Peter [Part 1]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. No matter what you've done wrong, no matter how many regrets you might have, or disappointments or failures, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is for you.

That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, Life of Peter, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire broadcast, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. So as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you this special offer available today. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org.

Or call 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. He has risen, just as he said, and this good news is for everybody.

No matter what you've done wrong, no matter how many regrets you might have, or disappointments or failures, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is for you. We have been studying the life of Peter. Peter is a fascinating person. I think you'd like him if you met him.

He is impulsive and emotional, sometimes boisterous, but he's very confident that he's going to be able to do it, and yet he fails over and over again. And what we've been recognizing is that there's a transition in Peter's life in which he's moving from Simon, which means maybe some say shifting sand or some form of hearing from God, but no stability to his life, to being Peter, which means rock. And so Jesus sees him as a rock and calls him such, and that's the transition that we're seeing in Peter's life.

And what we've been doing week by week is just discovering how it is that we are also transformed. And today we come to the resurrection story, and I want to show you something very interesting. It's in Mark, chapter 16, and I'll start reading it, verse 1.

Mark, chapter 16, verse 1. When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back.

It was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him? But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

There you will see him just as he told you. I once heard of a young man who was looking for an apartment to rent and having a hard time finding something until he was very happy that he came upon a guest house that was available for rent. And the owners of the large house were two sisters, elderly sisters, and they rented out their guest house, this young man, and he was delighted to be there.

It was a good accommodation for him. Well, the one eccentricity about these two older ladies is they had a pet rabbit that they loved dearly and kept it in a pen in the backyard. And one thing the young man worried about was he had a dog that was very interested in that rabbit. Well, one weekend the man went out of town for a long weekend and he came back and imagined his horror when his dog proudly trotted up to him with a dirty dead rabbit in its mouth, dirt all over it. And the young man thought, oh no, that dog has killed their precious rabbit. And the shame of it all was just too much for him. He just couldn't bear it.

And so he did the unthinkable. He took that old dead dirty rabbit and he shampooed it and washed it and got all the dirt out of it, got the blow dryer out and fluffed up its fur and went and just put it back into its little pen. And the next morning he woke up to see the two elderly ladies out standing next to the pen in shock, crying.

And so he stepped out and he said, what's wrong, ladies? Did the rabbit die? And they said, yes, he died three days ago and we buried him, but this morning he's back! Well, I got good news. We got a real resurrection story to talk about today.

And I don't need to fluff it up or dress it up. Jesus really is alive. But I tell the story because who amongst us has not experienced moments in life where we're just so embarrassed, we have so much regret about something, there's some failure in our life and everything within you would like to just cover it up. Well, Peter had many of those in his life.

And yet what we see in today's text is something that's, well, it's surprising and it makes my heart glad. And I'm going to show it to you as we go along, but first let's talk a little bit more about Peter and some of his failures. Peter meant well.

And I know so many people like this, I would describe myself as this kind of person. You mean well. You want to do well.

But meaning well and wanting to do well and follow through on promises is not the same thing as actually having the power to follow through on those promises. And this was Peter. Peter was the guy who one day Jesus is walking through a storm at sea and walking on the water and Peter said, tell me to come to you if that's you, Jesus. Jesus said, come.

And so it was Peter stepped out of the boat and he walked on the water for a few steps until he saw the wind and the waves and then glub, glub, glub. He sinks right down, has to be fished out of the water by Jesus himself. This is the same Peter who is with Jesus in Gethsemane. And Jesus says that he needs them to pray for him. And don't you know, Peter, just quick to say, oh, I'll pray for you, Jesus. I'll be there for you.

You can count on me. And Jesus goes over to pray and the weight of what is getting ready to happen in which he would drink the cup of wrath and take upon himself the sin of the world was so heavy that he sweat blood. And the text says he was sorrowful to the point of death.

He nearly died under the crushing weight, the emotional weight of that. And at least he had Peter praying for him, right? No, he goes back over and Peter is sound asleep, snoring on the job. This is the same Peter, of course, who said that he was going to never leave Jesus. Though others will fall away, I never will fall away, he says. And Jesus said to him, this very night you'll deny me three times before the cock crows.

And so it took place. And Peter is approached by a servant girl, says you were with him. And he says, I don't know the man. And then he's approached again and says, weren't you with him? And this time the text says he swore, said I didn't know the man. And then the third time that he was approached by others who said, surely he is a Galilean.

They recognized his Galilean accent. And this time the text says that he swore and cursed. And what may be the case, some scholars say, is that he not only cursed himself, but that what Peter was really doing was in an order to try to prove that he wasn't a disciple of Jesus. He did what no disciple would ever do of his master. He cursed Jesus and swore.

I never knew that blank, blank man. The failures in Peter's life were abysmal. And when the cock crowed, the Bible says he just wept bitterly. For he realized if he had just happened one time to deny Jesus, you might say it's a fluke. If Jesus hadn't even warned him that this would happen, you might say, well, it was a momentary blip in his character.

But no, Peter realized there was something deep and foundationally wrong in his soul. And he heard the rooster crow and he just he just cried. That's Alan Wright. And we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. There is only one solution, the grace of God that lifts our shame in a new six week video masterclass. Pastor Alan exposes the dynamics of shame and shows the path to freedom, whether as an individual or in a small group. The video series is sure to bring healing and hope. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries this month, we'll send you the digital masterclass videos and study guides as our way of saying thanks for your partnership in a world so quick to say shame on you.

It's time to let God's grace take the shame off you. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty or come to our Web site, Pastor Alan Dotorg.

Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. Who must have said not had failures in our lives and times which you just really regret something. And when you when you feel that way, you do want to fluff up the rabbit.

I mean, it's just too embarrassing. A few years ago, I had met a radio station manager at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville. And we got to have lunch together.

And I really, really like this brother. And he was running a station up in Iowa. Our program was on that station.

And he was talking about how much how important the message of the gospel of grace, healing, shame is, which is so much of our message. And he said, do you think sometime maybe this coming year that we could do a program and you could get on the phone and you can you interview throughout the show? We'll take callers in and we'll talk about this issue of shame.

I really think this would be a wonderful thing to do. And I said, I would love to, brother. I said, let's find a time. And so it was that later we corresponded and we put a date on the calendar to have this radio program. And it was a time of the week that I'm not usually working. And I had it on the calendar and I knew it was coming.

But it was it was right in the middle. Well, it was right in the time where I like to play golf. And so I I've never missed a wedding. I've never missed a funeral. I've never I've never missed a radio interview.

But on this day, I'm just out playing golf, golf. And suddenly my playing partner says something about radio. And just when he said that, all of a sudden, you ever had this happen? It just like out of nowhere, bam, like radio, radio interview. I looked down at my watch and the time had already gone by. I had just missed it entirely, missed it entirely. One of the few times I didn't have my cell phone with me, just worried about hitting that little white golf ball.

And I missed the whole thing. And suddenly my mind went to what it must have been like for him when he was announcing that week. Special guest Alan Wright coming on to talk about shame. And oh, I just imagine at the moment it was a live broadcast, a live show where he comes up and he says, and today we're going to be welcoming Alan Wright to be calling in any minute now.

And then he has to just fill in somehow. And I wonder what did he do for that hour? What did he do? What did he talk about? And how many times did he say, I'm sure Alan will be calling now any moment? He probably eventually said, I'm sure it was a major crisis and he had a sudden emergency. And I never told him that I was actually playing golf. I just said when I called him, I said, I can't believe that this happened. I was occupied with something else. And it was that missed it on my calendar. And I, I am just, listen, I will, I will come up, I will drive up, I will fly up there and do a program with you.

I'll come, I will mop the floor of the radio station and polish your shoes. What can I possibly do, you know, to make this up to you? You just feel so bad about that. I mean, there are some people in this world whose conscience has been seared and they seem to have no compunction anymore. But that's not most people. That's not you.

That's certainly not me. Instead, it's like when you mess up or something like that, you know how you feel. You just feel, you feel bad about it. And so what happens so oftentimes is it's like when you feel so bad about something like that, you just, what do you want to do? You want to just, you want to just hide at first, don't you? You want to just find a way to deny it even happen.

You want to find a way to fluff it up and dress it up and put it back in the pen. You want to do something, anything except for feeling that gnawing regret and the anxiety that accompanies it. It is, it's what shame feels like.

And so in order to understand the good news of the gospel today, I need you to put yourself in Peter's place and think about how deep his denial was of the Lord and how he felt when the cock crowed. You can become hopeless. You can condemn yourself. You can sabotage yourself. You can try to punish yourself.

Or you can just rebel and say, I don't care. But somewhere deep down, we all have that dirty dead rabbit in our past and it feels terrible. And part of the problem is not just that maybe you've made some big mistakes in your life. Times where you've made a promise and you didn't keep it. And you look back and you wonder how you'll ever get over how much you messed up in that marriage. Or how much you messed up in that parenting moment. Or how much you messed up at work and what that cost you. Or whatever it might be, all those regrets that are there. And even if you don't have something big that's haunting you like that, the problem with us in our sin nature is that we also have this tendency to have a form of regret that just essentially says, I could have always done more.

And it leaves us completely discontent. So some of the people that look the most successful in all the world actually have this same seed. Some years ago, I was fascinated to read an interview with Tom Brady, who is a four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback of the New England Patriots. In 2010, he signed a $72 million contract extension with the Patriots at that time making him the highest paid player ever in the NFL. But if he runs short on money, he's all right because he is married to the highest paid supermodel in the world.

And he and his Brazilian supermodel wife and their children have a $20 million mansion in California, a $14 million condo in New York. And in 2005, 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Croft interviewed the football superstar and was surprised at Brady's candor about how empty his life actually seemed. Here's what Tom Brady said. He said, Well, I put incredible amounts of pressure on myself. When you feel like you're ultimately responsible for everyone and everything, even though you have no control over it, you still blame yourself if things don't go right.

I mean, there's a lot of pressure. A lot of times I think I get frustrated and introverted, and there are times in which I'm not the person that I want to be. And then he said this, Why do I have three Super Bowl rings? Now it's four and still think there's something greater out there for me. I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, Hey, man, this is what it is.

I reached my goal, my dream, my life. But me, Brady said, I think God has got to be more than this. I mean, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be. I mean, I've done it. I'm 27.

And what else is there for me? And the interviewer Croft said, What's the answer? And Brady said, I wish I knew.

He repeated himself, I wish that I knew. Peter had a bundle of regret for every time he'd sunk down, for every time he'd fallen asleep on the job, and for every time he denied Jesus. And when the angel spoke to these ladies and said, Here's what I want you to go back and tell everyone.

Did you notice something interesting here? Verse 7, But go tell his disciples and Peter that he's going before you to Galilee. Why did the angel single out Peter? I think, I don't know this, but I think because the angel means messenger, so they're a messenger of God. And I think what happened is that Jesus rose from the dead.

It's just me guessing. And there's an angel there. And as Jesus is leaving and he knows the women are going to come, he says, Here's exactly what I want you to say. Tell the disciples and be sure and tell Peter that I've risen and I'm looking forward to meeting you in Galilee. And Peter, tell the one who denied me. Tell the one who failed me.

Tell the one who is most full of regret and remorse in his life. And Peter, let Peter know. I'm looking forward to seeing him in Galilee. Let Peter know he's not disqualified. Let Peter know that I love him still. Let Peter know that when everybody comes to see and meet me in Galilee and we celebrate together, I want him in that party. Tell the disciples and Peter.

Alan Wright and today's teaching and Peter in the Life of Peter and also an Easter message that's applicable today. Stay with us, Alan. We'll be back in a moment with additional insight on this for your life and a final word. Ever feel like the pressure's always on?

Do you find it hard to say no, worried that you'll disappoint someone? The Bible tells us only one thing about Adam and Eve's relationship in paradise. They were naked and felt no shame. But as soon as sin entered the world, they became anxious, plagued with a gnawing question. What must I do to be accepted? There is only one solution, the grace of God that lifts our shame. In a new six-week video master class, Pastor Alan exposes the dynamics of shame and shows the path to freedom. Whether as an individual or in a small group, the video series is sure to bring healing and hope. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries this month, we'll send you the digital master class videos and study guides as our way of saying thanks for your partnership.

In a world so quick to say shame on you, it's time to let God's grace take the shame off you. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Alan, to make a programming note here, this particular message was delivered on an Easter Sunday morning and in the middle of the Life of Peter series.

This is titled, And Peter, because of Christ's message to tell the disciples, but especially Peter. Well, it's such a beautiful thing. You know, the angel's there and there's an empty tomb. And you just see this line.

It's a message from God to this angel. Go tell the disciples he's not here. He's risen just as he said. But it's not just go tell them all. It's go tell him and Peter.

He's singled out. After all of his failures and all of the shame and all of his self-condemnation, he would feel about it. The Lord wanted to make sure that Peter heard specifically, this is also for you. This good news is also for you. And boy, what a message for all of us and for our listeners today. No matter how much you feel like you've messed up, God comes to us and says, here's the good news.

It's for all of you and Alan and you and you and you. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.