Rev. David Holwick K
First Baptist Church PERSONALITIES OF THE PASSION
Ledgewood, New Jersey Simon Peter
March 26, 2000
Luke 22:31-34
SIFTED, SINGED, SAVED
I. Shark's teeth.
A. Big hit of our vacation in Florida - finding sharks' teeth.
Josiah had to get some or vacation was a failure.
Along dark sand of Venice beaches, hundreds search.
Smart ones use a sieve made with window screen.
Small sand slips through, leaving the fossil teeth.
B. Peter was a lot like the sands of Venice beach.
1) He was a bold leader, but no superhero.
a) One scholar studied ancient Greek and Roman literature
and found that ordinary people were portrayed as
buffoons.
Rich and powerful people are highlighted but the rest
are just filler.
The New Testament is very different.
Ordinary people are the stars.
They have warts and failings, but they are the ones
God uses.
b) Peter was a very ordinary fellow, one we can relate to.
2) Peter can teach us much about ourselves.
II. "Sifted" Peter's temptation.
A. Satan makes a request.
1) Satan is real.
a) Jesus says so, and more than once.
b) But he does not appear outwardly in episode of Peter.
c) All Peter sees is a humiliated Jesus and hostile crowd.
1> Satan comes in blue eyes and blue jeans.
2) Satan is limited.
a) He has to request permission to approach us.
1> God is the ultimate power, not Satan.
2> "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is
in the world." 1 John 4:4
b) He is limited by our capacity to resist him.
1> The Devil can't "make us" do anything.
2> He can only tempt and entice.
c) Why would God let Satan close to us?
1> Familiar question from book of Job. Job 1-2
2> Such tests reveal the genuineness of our faith
and love.
3) Satan wants us to trip us up. He wants to sift us.
B. Sifted as wheat.
1) Meaning of "sift."
a) Separate good and bad?
1> Contrast of wheat vs. chaff is not emphasized.
2> Indicates a time of testing.
b) See if Peter is genuine.
2) Sift you - "you" is plural, meaning all the disciples.
a) Temptation is not something only a few Christians
experience.
b) Any of us could be tripped up.
Solid. Respected. Leader. Husband. Sterling reputation.
Role model. High moral character. Strong religious beliefs.
A man of substance.
These are some of the words used to describe Atlanta Falcons'
Pro Bowl safety Eugene Robinson during the days leading up
to the Super Bowl last year.
Selfish. Foolish. Ridiculous. Inconsistent. Pathetic.
Stupid. Dumb. Hypocritical.
These are some of the words used to describe the same man
after his arrest on charges of soliciting sex from an
undercover police officer.
How could one man, whose testimony and reputation had been so
well documented, whose beliefs were so sincere, be marked
with such distinctly contrasting labels?
How could a man who, earlier that day accepted The Bart Starr
Award for "High Moral Character," be found in one of the
seediest parts of Miami?
Sports journalist Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times said,
"If there were one athlete I would want to set an example...
I would choose Eugene Robinson.
That's why I still can't believe this story."
So what, then, happened?
After Robinson's ill-timed and shocking arrest, his father
commented that "there is a lesson here somewhere."
Indeed, there are several lessons we can learn from what
befell Eugene Robinson.
1) First, he was ALONE.
Ecclesiastes 4:10 and 12 speaks of the need to have the
support of others and accountability -
"If one falls down, his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls down and has no one to
help him up!
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend
themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
2) Second, he was NOT WHERE HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
Robinson's wife, Gia, and their two children were staying
in the hotel with him.
And, obviously, so were all of his teammates.
Why he chose to leave the presence of his wife and family,
as well as his teammates, is known only to him.
But he did, and he found himself somewhere he should not
have been.
3) Third, he placed himself in a POSITION OF DANGER.
We, as Christians, are in the midst of a continual battle.
There are places and situations where we become more
vulnerable than others.
Those places and situations are to be avoided as much as
possible.
Eugene Robinson apparently allowed himself to be found in
a place where he could not control the temptation.
His last fatal mistake was to give in to the temptation.
He could have kept driving.
He could have left his window rolled up.
He could have stopped at the light in a lane away
from the curb.
He apparently did none of this.
Instead, he made the conscious effort to solicit what
turned out to be an undercover police officer.
#5002
4) Where would Satan sift you?
a) We all have areas of weakness.
b) Bring them under the control of God.
III. "Singed" Peter's fall.
A. Jesus prays that his faith not fail.
1) "Faith" is not correct doctrinal belief but his
faithfulness to Jesus.
2) Issue is loyalty.
a) Would he stand up for Jesus? He did not.
b) How loyal are you to Jesus?
B. Did the prayer of Jesus fail?
1) Some say Peter failed so the prayer failed.
2) However, the denial was not a failure of his faith but
a wavering of it.
a) Notice that Jesus foreknows Peter will need to turn
back. This implies he will first fall away.
b) Events proved that Peter did not fail completely.
C. Jesus is on our side.
1) His prayer is stronger than Satan's sifting.
2) This is main reason I believe real Christians don't lose
salvation.
a) If Jesus is looking after me, I am safe.
b) Reveals eternal security of believers.
IV. "Saved" Peter's restoration.
A. Peter had to "turn back."
1) Same term used of repentance in other passages.
a) It is almost as if he had to decide to be saved again.
1> Some Christians think that is exactly what is
happening.
2> But he is not coming back to salvation, but to
fellowship with God.
b) Note that Jesus is not praying for him to turn back,
he is assuming it.
2) Admit your failure.
a) To Jesus.
b) To others.
B. Strengthen the brothers.
1) Whenever we come back to God it should have a higher
purpose.
a) Help others who will face same situation.
2) Turn defeat into victory.
Historians tell us that there was a naval battle in the
sixteenth century between the forces of Venice and Genoa.
The Genoese suffered a crushing defeat.
But after the damage to their ships had been repaired,
the commander asked his forces to return to fight the
fleets of Venice one more time.
His sailors objected, wondering how they could be asked to
return to fight an enemy who had beaten them so badly.
The commander replied,
"It was rendered famous by our defeat,
let us render it immortal by our victory."
God wants us to return to the place of our defeat.
He wants to win great victories in the very area of our
lives that has been ravaged by Satan.
#2551
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#2551 "Claim A Victory," by Erwin Lutzer in "Overcoming The
Grasshopper Complex," found in Pulpit Helps, November 1993.
#5002 "Lessons," by Scott A. Moore, from Wings As Eagles;
http://www.home.earthlink.net~smtiger/~smtiger/wings,
February 1999.
These and 5,500 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/illust.html
=========================================================================
I. Summary of Peter's life.
A. His call.
1) Fisherman.
2) Leaves nets, follows Jesus.
a) Brother Andrew actually invited him.
B. His leadership.
1) One of three in core of disciples.
2) Often speaks for whole group.
3) Church built on rock.
C. His impetuousness.
1) Speaks before thinking.
2) Slower to tomb but first to peak in.
D. His failure. focus here................
1) Prediction by Jesus.
a) Sifting.
b) Denial.
c) Return.
2) Act of denial.
3) Restoration.
E. Leadership in Acts.
1) Sermon at Pentecost.
2) God's view of inclusiveness with Cornelius.
II. What we can gain from Peter.
A. Answer Jesus' call.
B. Be bold for God.
C. Be humble - we can fail.
D. God is gracious and can receive us back.
III. Christians can stumble without falling.
A. Backsliding.
1) No Christian is immune.
a) Jesus assumes Peter, and all others, will fall.
1> More than a prophet - he does not hear
anything from God.
b) Begins with small defeats, inconsistencies.
c) Escalates to overwhelm.
d) Can feel like we can never go back.
2) Sometimes it seems like everyone is falling.
a) Swaggart scandal...
b) Donatus controversy.
1> Not all Christians have fearlessly faced lions.
3) Be humble and careful.
B. Falling would be a terrible thing.
1) No coming back.
2) Real Christians cannot fall.
a) Shows eternal security of believers.
3) But are you real?
