Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, Peter Simon Peter. the strong, outspoken, courageous leader of the twelve disciples. Peter the great apostle. Yet he denied Jesus Christ not once, not twice, but three times. A great man, a follower of Christ, falls disastrously.
Tragically. and publicly. Welcome to the verdict featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. The Apostle Peter was a strong leader and a passionate follower of Christ. Yet when the pressure was on and fear took hold, Peter faltered and denied even knowing Jesus.
Today we're learning about dealing with failure and and how we recover from our greatest mistakes.
Now, let's join Pastor John Monroe as he introduces his message: denying the Christ. Today we're looking at Peter, the leader of the 12 apostles. Who follow Jesus so closely. And in great faith, they declared that Jesus was the Christ, the very Son of God. In today's passage, Peter now does the unthinkable.
something he swore he would never do. He denies knowing our Lord Jesus. What's your reaction to Peter's denial? Do you find it hard to believe that Peter of all people would deny knowing Jesus? Don't judge Peter too quickly.
Most of us who follow Jesus have had times when we've not spoken up for Jesus. This is a serious reminder to all of us. Let's trace the steps which led Peter away from Jesus and see how the story unfolds. We read about Peter's denial in John chapter 18. Uh Many of you here claim to have a personal, life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ.
You would describe yourself as a follower of Christ. But some of you are away from the Lord.
Some sin has come into your life. Perhaps deceive someone in a business deal. Perhaps you have committed immorality, perhaps you have a secret drink or drug problem. Perhaps you have slandered someone. Perhaps you've cheated in an exam, you're living a lie.
Anyone like that? If so, this message is for you. Today is the perfect time for you to get right. with the Lord. Or perhaps you feel that you would never fall into serious sin.
You know of others, weak, faltering Christians, but you consider that you are different from them. You are strong in the Lord. You feel that you would never ever deny the Christ. Or perhaps in the past you have fallen badly. Spiritually, you have blown it.
And before God today you are now broken, humbled, truly repentant, but you wonder if God will ever use you again, if God will now have a different view of you. Other people know of your sin, and from time to time they may even with delight remind you of your past sins. You are aware, perhaps, that they whisper behind your back, and you're asking yourself, Can God ever use me again? Is my fall so disastrous that I'm beyond restoration, that I'm beyond spiritual usefulness? Anyone here asking these kinds of questions?
If so, this message It's for you. Our subject perhaps is an unusual one. It's about failure in the Christian life. failure in the Christian life. We're going to read about Peter's failure, about a man, a leader, a strong spiritual man, we would have thought.
Who ends up denying? the Christ. Let's open our Bibles to John. The fourth gospel. John chapter eighteen.
We have been studying John's uh gospel. looking at various encounters our Lord has with different people. Today We think of Peter. And we're going to read of his denial. in chapter 18.
Versus Twelve.
So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. And led him to Annas first, for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people. And Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple.
Now that disciple was known to the high priest and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest. But Peter was standing at the door outside.
So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper and brought in Peter. The slave girl, therefore, who kept the door, said to Peter, You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you? He said, I am not.
Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold, and they were warming themselves, and Peter also with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest therefore questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews came together, and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question me?
Question those who have heard what I spoke to them. Behold, these know what I said. And when he had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying, Is that the way you answer the high priest? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong. But if rightly, why do you strike me?
Annas therefore sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, You are not also one of His disciples, are you? He denied it and said, I am not. One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, Did I not see you in the garden with him? Peter, therefore, denied it again.
And immediately. A cock. Crowd. We're going to learn that failure in the Christian life, first of all, is not uncommon. Failure in the Christian life is not uncommon.
Peter, obviously, failed very badly. Jesus is being inside questioned while Peter is outside. Inside, Jesus stands firm and denies nothing. Outside, Peter falters and denies everything.
Now Peter is really the last disciple we would have expected to deny the Lord. He's the leader of the twelve. He's a tough fisherman. He's a man's man. He's at the front.
We don't think of Peter being a coward, yet he fails the Lord. When it came to the test, he fell. and he fell very, very badly. Do you notice in verse 17 that he's first questioned gently by a slave girl who really makes no accusation but just asks the question? In the garden of Gethsemane, just earlier, Peter had drawn his sword.
Peter had been defending the Lord, but now He is denying the Lord and before of all people A young Slave girl. And he denies the Lord not once, that would have been bad, not twice, but three times. Times. Haven't you noticed in your Christian life? that one seemingly small step away from the Lord, often leads to others.
It's often that first step, that first little compromise. That is the begin. of a huge fall. downwards.
Now as a follower of Jesus, Peter was greatly privileged. He was the leader of the disciples. He had been with Jesus for three years. He had personally witnessed the wit the miracles that Jesus had performed. He had personally heard the teaching of Jesus.
Furthermore, he was part of the inner circle. You remember Peter, James and John. And Peter was one of the three who on the Mount of Transfiguration had caught a rare glimpse of the majesty and glory and splendor of the Lord. Peter had been there and had seen it with his own eyes and had heard all that was said. Peter also was the one in Matthew chapter sixteen who had Come with that marvelous confession, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
That came from the lips of Peter, and the Lord had turned to Peter and said, Blessed are you, Simon Barchona. For flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Heaven. Yes, Peter is a greatly privileged man, a greatly blessed man. He's in the inner circle, he's close to the Lord.
all the greater His fault. What was one of Peter's problems? Peter had been dangerously overconfident, considering himself to be spiritually superior to the other disciples. You feel you got your spiritual act together? You look down on others who kind of stumble.
You think that would never happen. To me, that's exactly like Peter. Go back to chapter 13. We saw this a couple of weeks ago. John chapter thirteen, verse thirty six.
Simon Peter said to the Lord, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, Where I go, you can't follow me now, but you shall follow later. Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you right now? I will lay down my life for you. Strong words, right?
Fighting words. Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, A cock shall not crow until you deny me three times. dangerously overconfident. a streak of self righteousness in Peter.
Others might deny you, Lord. I will be right there with you. His failure then Is all the more tragic. All the more dramatic. all the more public.
He fails. badly. Like The fall. Of the first king of Israel, Saul, we could say, How are the mighty? Following.
I want to remind you, however, this morning that not only did Peter fail, you too, yes, you, whoever you are, you too can fail in the Christian. Life. When the Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher crashed his Renault car into the back of a truck on the German Ottobahn several years ago, it proved one thing above all else. If it can happen to the best driver in the world, it can happen to you. What is true about driving?
is true in the Christian life. Failure in the Christian life is not uncommon. Consider some of the biblical characters who fell into serious sin. Noah got drunk. Abraham lied.
Jacob deceived. Moses killed. David committed adultery, Jonah the prophet ran away from the Lord. Do you consider yourself spiritually stronger than them? The reality is that all of us in certain circumstances may make foolish, impulsive and indeed sinful choices.
Paul tells us that in 1 Corinthians 10, as he rehearses some of the sins of ancient Israel, this nation which had been so blessed. And in verse ten, he says, Now let the one who thinks he stands Take heed. Bless he fall. Peter thought he was standing firm. and he disregarded the warnings.
of the Lord. Peter, a man of courage. The leader, the one to get out of the boat and walk on the water. A real man's man, a tough guy? No.
shows really and is hard. He's a bit of a coward. As he cowardly Denies The Lord. And the time. of the Lord's great need.
Oswald Chambers says an unguarded strength is a double weakness. Let me ask you what would you consider to be your greatest strength? Your personal integrity. your financial Expertise. Your marriage?
Your work ethic? Your honesty, your morals, be very careful. Satan often attacks on your blind side. Your greatest strength. May be the very source of your spiritual fall.
Certainly that was the case. with Peter.
So guard your strength. As well as your weaknesses. Guard your heart, guard your thoughts, guard your marriage, guard your speech, guard your integrity. Peter is not the only one who has failed. Failure in the Christian life.
is not uncommon. Secondly, Failure in the Christian life is often not unexpected. Failure in the Christian life is not unexpected. Peter's failure was not unexpected when you think of it. Spiritual failure.
Contrary to what sometimes people argue as they try to justify their position, spiritual failure rarely happens all at once. Usually there is a downward drift. Usually there are warning signs that we have ignored. Peter Was warned. By Jesus.
Several times. Peter disregarded the word of God. He didn't listen to Jesus. And he also neglected his prayer. Turn to Matthew chapter 26.
The Lord in the garden, who is he with? The inner circle. Peter, James and John in the garden of Gethsemane, where our Lord is being tempted. Matthew twenty six, verse forty. In verse 39, the Lord is on his face praying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will.
Well, Peter, you're the one that has said that you're always going to be with the Lord and you're going to defend the Lord. Presumably, you are there at the Lord's sides. Verse forty, what happens? the Lord comes to the disciples and found them what? Sleeping.
and said to Peter, So you could not watch with me. for one hour? Keep watching and praying. That you may not enter into temptation. The Spirit is willing.
But the flesh is weak. He went away a second time and prayed, saying, Father, If this cannot pass away, Unless I drink it, your will be done. And again he came and found them. Sleeping. for their eyes were heavy.
And he left them again and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping? And taking your rest, behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands. of sinners. What is Peter doing?
He is neglecting the word of Christ. Can I say to you? Never. Never, no exceptions. Never Neglect your study.
of the word of God. Make it your daily habit. Every single day, don't leave home without it. Every Single Dave. On your busiest day On your vacation?
Whatever is happening, always, always spend time in this book, The Word of God. And don't ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit in your life. Nothing provides nothing. provides a surer defence Against the attacks of our enemy than the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. What does our Lord use against the enemy when the enemy attacks him in the wilderness?
It is written. It is written. It is written, You think you're stronger than Christ? Do you want to use another weapon? This is the best weapon, the sword of the Spirit.
Psalm 119, verse 9. How shall a young man cleanse his way? How can a young man, a young woman, live a clean life? Answer, according to your word. Psalm 119, verse 11: Your word have I hid, have I treasured in my heart, that I might not do what?
Sin against you. Without the word of God you will sin. Peter is ignoring the word of Christ.
Furthermore, secondly, Peter is neglecting prayer. In the garden, the Lord told Peter to pray that you may not enter into temptation. How clearer could the Lord have been? Peter, you're going to be tempted. You need to be awake.
You need to be on your knees praying rather than sleeping. And although Peter is told to pray, Although Peter is warned that Satan is going to tempt him, he falls asleep. He's insensitive to the spiritual warfare going around as the Lord is on his knees in the garden of Gethsemane. While Christ is praying, Peter is Sleeping.
Sound familiar? Without prayer. you will be spiritually weak. Luke 18 verse 1 men ought always to pray and not to faint. If you don't pray every day, you will be weak.
What else contributed to Peter's fall? He ignored godly advice. The Lord warned him. Peter ignores it. Can I say to you?
Don't ignore badly. advice. Don't ignore godly counsel and warning from your friends and your family. Peter did not listen. Man Listen to your wives.
when they express concern about a situation. Wives, listen to your husbands when they express concern about a situation going on in your life. Don't resent their counsel. Thank God. for a godly wife, husband, friend.
Parents. Child. Church leader. Who has the integrity to confront you and speak the truth in love?
Now most of us would rather give advice than receive advice. And receiving advice can be very difficult when we realize in our heart that we've taken that one step. Away from the Lord. And someone who is close to us brings it to our attention, and we're apt instinctively to be defensive. To ignore it.
So, you're making a fuss about nothing. There's nothing wrong in this. This is all perfectly innocent. What's wrong with you? Don't you trust me?
Listen. The godly. advice. Listen to those who walk closely. With the Saviour.
Learn from their experience. Learn from their failures. Listen to their warnings. Follow. their faith.
When we don't listen to God's word, When we're not praying, And when we're ignoring godly warnings, failure in these circumstances is not unexpected. Peter's failure was not Unexpected. Also, Peter was following Jesus, but following at a distance. Look at Luke chapter 22, the third gospel, Luke chapter 22. Verse fifty four.
Here's Luke's account. about the rest of Jesus? Having arrested him, they led Jesus away and brought him to the house of the high priest, but Peter. Who said he would lay down his life for the Lord is right at the Lord's side. Yeah.
Peter is following. At a distance. And when Jesus first encountered Peter, what did he say to Peter? Follow. Me.
That's what disciples do. Disciples follow Jesus. And for over three years, Peter had been following Jesus closely. He'd been at the Lord's side.
Now he's following. He's still following. We have to give him credit for that, but he's following at a distance. Instead of being close to the Lord, Who's he cluster? The enemies of the Lord.
He's warming his hands. at their fire. Instead of standing close to Jesus, he is now standing close to unbelievers. Those who are plotting the death of his Saviour. Let me ask you who you're standing with.
He said, well Yeah. As Christians, we're meant to be light and salt, and we're meant to mix with unbelievers. I understand that, and we are to do that. We are to be light, and we are to be salt. But let me ask you this.
Is the company you're keeping, is it helping you spiritually? Or is it weakening you spiritually? Let me ask you that. The people you spend your time with. Do you find yourself strengthened spiritually?
Or do you find You're on the uneasy slopes. of compromise. There was no question. What was the case? with Peter.
You see, in the Christian life, you never know when temptation is going to come. Peter didn't realize that this little girl was going to say to him, Aren't you one of them? Didn't you follow him? Tomorrow. Perhaps later today.
may be the toughest day of your life. Tomorrow the enemy may throw one of his fiery darts at you. Be ready. Always. Keep close.
To the safeyard.
So when the temptation comes. It is clear. That you're on the Lord's side and that you're close to the Savior, that you are not following at a distance. The further you are from the Master. The further you are away from the Lord, the more likely your failure.
Isn't that the case? Therefore, make sure you are following Jesus closely. When I'm following Jesus closely, He will always, always lead me in the righteous path. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe in the first half of a message titled Denying the Christ. Be sure to keep listening.
John will be back in just a moment with his closing remarks. But first, I'd like to offer you a special resource that we're making available at no cost as our way of saying thanks for reaching out. It's a unique booklet by John on what it means to step out of darkness and into the light of Christ. Maybe you are wrestling with doubts. Maybe you're thinking, how will trust in God actually help me navigate the real struggles I'm facing with grief, financial pressure, family turmoil?
John wrote his booklet titled Trusting God in Tough Times for moments exactly like this. It's a straightforward resource that shows you why God's character makes Him worthy of your confidence, even in life's hardest chapters. And no matter where you are, we'd love to send you a free copy of this helpful booklet today. Just go to our website at theverdict.org. And while you're on our website, you'll have the opportunity to play a part in what God is doing through the verdict.
with a simple one-time donation of any amount. You can easily give whatever amount you feel led to by visiting theverdict.org. And don't forget to subscribe to the Verdict podcast. In addition to these programs, John has a weekly podcast called Avizandam, where he shares his personal thoughts on relevant topics like church and politics, the uniqueness of Israel, and how to engage the culture for Christ. You can hear it all by subscribing to the Verdict Podcast.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you find yourself turning away from Jesus? Perhaps like Peter, you once walked very close to Jesus. but things have happened in your life which have led to your heart being hardened. Perhaps you've fallen into bad company.
Perhaps you're neglecting prayer and Bible study. Perhaps you've stopped attending your church and have become too busy with life. and neglected your new life in Christ. Today, have a fresh encounter with Jesus. And join me next time as we look further at Peter denying the Lord.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
