October 24, 2004

Grace to Avoid Pitfalls and Potholes

Scripture Passage: Mark 8:27-33

Supportive Scriptures: (See the references below.)

Background Information:

Here is another sermon that can be preached in summary form using all of the points or can be edited down to the most relevant. Alternatively, it could be developed into a series. It should be preached in a way that does not load on guilt or condemn those willing to respond to God’s gentle rebuke and call to growth.

The Introduction

Simon Peter. The fisherman. The brother of and the cousin of James and John.

Simon Peter. At least he of the disciples was married and Jesus apparently sometimes stayed at their house.

Simon Peter – whom Jesus called “the rock” – one of the three closest to Jesus – the disciple whom tradition says was crucified and asked to be upside down because he felt unworthy to die as Jesus did,

When we read the stories of the disciples, none of us want to identify with Judas. After all, he was a traitor. Many of us would like to identify with John. After all, he was beloved by Christ and always close to Him. In reality, we are all probably a lot more like Peter. He was close to Jesus, but frequently disappointed Him. He spoke out boldly about Christ, but then denied Him out of fear. He spoke words of wisdom and insight and then within minutes, his mouth got him in trouble. There is much we can learn from him about potholes and pitfalls that can cause us problems along the “narrow way.”

The Body

I. Peter's Great Moments

Peter had some exciting moments in his journey with Jesus. How many people do you know who have walked on water? (see Matthew 14) He dared to ask Jesus. He dared to step out of the boat. And he did it!
He was the first to declare his belief that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. That confession earned him the praise and affirmation and blessing of Jesus.

He was one of the three who saw the transfigured glory of his Master. These were great moments indeed.
But perhaps it is in his moments of failure that we most identify with Peter.

II. Peter's Weaknesses

A. Peter got into trouble when he got his eyes on the problem instead of Christ (Mt 14:28)

It was when he looked at the wind and felt the splash of the waves on his face that he began to doubt. Then, he began to sink into the very “stuff” that he had walked triumphantly above. It is always dangerous to get our eyes off of Jesus – either to focus on our difficulties or even on God’s blessings. The Psalmist said, “Your face, Lord, will I seek.” (Ps 27:8) That’s the only way to walk on water.

B. Peter got into trouble when he tried to teach the Master (Mk 8:29)

After Peter’s great confession in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus began to teach the Twelve what being the Messiah would mean. Peter took him aside and began to “teach” Jesus that He had it all wrong – that He didn’t understand the role of the Messiah. That brought an angry rebuke from Jesus. The one who had been called “blessed by the Father”, is now called “Satan” because he has become the voice of the tempter who would follow Jesus all the way into Gethsemane with that same temptation. We need to learn from Christ, but often, in our praying, we are trying to tell Him the way He should do things. He is the Rabbi. We must remember that we are the disciples.

C. Peter got into trouble when he said "NO" to Jesus (Jn 13:8)

After the meal, Jesus took the basin and the towel and began to wash His disciples feet. There didn’t seem to be a problem until He got to Peter. (It is interesting that Peter was the one who was supposed to take care of the arrangements but he seems to have forgotten to find someone to wash the feet of the disciples – feet dusty from the walk through Jerusalem’s streets.) “No!” said Peter. “You shall never wash my feet.” It is never right to say “No!” to God. Jesus told Peter that if He didn’t wash his feet, Peter could have no part of Him. Then Peter shifted ground and said that if that was the case, Jesus should wash all of him. (Trying to teach the Master again.) Jesus had to mildly rebuke Him and remind him that it was only his feet that needed to be washed.
Fortunately, we never say “no” to Jesus. We tell Him “I’ll pray about it!” “I’ll do it eventually.” “Maybe.” Translation? “No!” We should always and only say YES to God.

D. Peter got into trouble when he was self-confident (Jn 13:37-38)

Jesus warned Peter, that night, that one would betray Him, that all would desert Him, and that Peter himself would deny Him, would disown Him, – not once, but three times. Peter, with his usual self-confidence, declared that he would never do that. He would die with Him first! One Gospel says that he “vowed” never to do such a thing. Here again, Peter is unwilling to learn from Jesus. And he relies on his own evaluation of himself rather than on Christ’s warning. We, and he, should know better. Self-reliance is usually greatly misplaced.

E. Peter got into trouble when he tried to do it his own way in his own strength (Jn 18:10)

After the meal they went to the Garden. Judas and the soldiers came to arrest Jesus. Brash Peter pulls out a sword to defend Jesus (maybe remembering his vow) and manages to cut off the ear of one of the servants of the High Priest. And Jesus had to tell Peter to put the sword away. That was not the way Jesus planned to handle this situation. Peter didn’t understand His purposes and hadn’t learned from Jesus that this suffering would come. And then, Jesus had to repair the damage that Peter had done, replacing and healing the ear that Peter had severed.

We too, can do damage when we try to do God’s work in our own way. Our tongues are sharp and sever ears. They cause bleeding and hurt. And Christ has to come along and deal with the mess we have made of things – and bring healing and hearing where we have brought pain. God’s work must always be done in His way.

F. Peter got into trouble when he warmed himself at the fire of the enemy (Jn 18:19)

It seems to be a problem with all us. We want to get close to danger. Maybe not so much with our physical lives as with our spiritual ones. One bumper sticker said, “How much can I get away with and still get to heaven?” We will usually (always?) be influenced by the company we keep. Rather than standing with Jesus, Peter warmed himself and found his comfort and fellowship at the fire of the enemy. And that’s when he betrayed Him. Three times, He called down curses on himself and with an oath, he broke his vow. If he had been brave enough to stand with his Master, it may not have changed the outcome for Jesus, but it certainly would have for Peter.

G. Peter got into trouble when his love was incomplete (Jn 21:15)

Bible scholars differ on how much weight to give to the wording of Jesus’ encounter with Peter by the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection. Some translations indicate the words that are used in the Greek. “Peter, do you love (agape) me?” “Lord, you know I am your friend.” The same dialogue takes place a second time. On the third exchange, Jesus says, “Peter, are you my friend?” Could it be that Peter never got the point? Could it be that Peter had not yet come to an understanding of the depths of self-giving love that Jesus was looking for? Could it be, that Jesus, on the third question, brought it down to the level that Peter was ready to handle?

However, we interpret that exchange of words, it is still important for us to remember that God is looking for love from the whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. That the New Testament filled this Greek word Agape with an entirely new meaning – a level of love that was not understood outside of the love of God. It is never enough to offer God luke-warm love.

H. Peter got into trouble when he worried about other people (Jn 21:21)

Jesus told the restored Peter the nature of the death that awaited him. And Peter looked at John who was following them, and asked Jesus, “What will happen to him?” Misery loves company. We want to be sure that others don’t get a better deal than we do. And again, Jesus has to rebuke Peter – at least refocus his attention. “If I want him to live until I come again, Peter, that is none of your business. Your job is to follow me!” And so, Jesus’ last words to Peter were the same as His first words. “Follow me!”

I. Peter got into trouble when he was inconsistent in his witness (Ga 2:11)

There was one more time that Peter reflects our own tendencies. He had already been through Pentecost and had the vision on the housetop. He had been the first to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (in the home of Cornelius) and to defend that action on his return. He had sided with Barnabas and Paul at the Council of Jerusalem. But when the Circumcision party came around, Peter backed away from his Gentile friends and pretended not to be part of them. And Paul rebuked him for his hypocrisy. Are we as ready to be identified with Christ at school or at work as we are at church? Are we chameleons who change are colors depending on our surrounding?

The Conclusion

Peter’s life shows us the dangers in these kinds of behavior. We still get into the same kinds of trouble in the same old ways. Too often we act as Peter did. It is instructive that Peter’s moments of greatness were often very close to his moments of weakness and failure. It will often be that way for us. Often for him, the weakness was the flip side of one of his strengths. It will often be that way for us.

But His life also shows us that God’s Grace can forgive us and can transform us – even change us into someone useful in His Kingdom. Much of what we see in Peter before Pentecost is what the Grace-enabled life is not supposed to look like. But Peter as we see him in Acts is an example of the kind of lives God wants us to live in the ordinary days of life. We must learn like Peter that we need to a) step out on faith, b) confess Jesus as Lord, c) obey courageously, d) face up to our prejudices, and e) live daily by the power of the Spirit.

In the busy-ness of ordinary living, in the give and take of relationships, in our attempts to do good for God’s Kingdom, we often fail to notice that we have misplaced our priorities, have slipped into destructive mind-sets, have put off God’s warnings and His requests, or have mis-directed our gaze and focus. Most of the ways in which we do that are illustrated in the list from the story of Peter.

Where do you find yourself reflected in the mirror of Peter’s Life? Do you need to let the Lord cleanse you of something that will become a pitfall for you if you do not take care of it now?

In this service we have an opportunity to come in for a check-up – a chance to make mid-course corrections – a time to let Grace transform everyday living in the area of our own specific shortcomings or failures – a time to receive new strength for the journey. If we will let the Spirit search our hearts we can find grace to avoid the potholes and pitfalls that plagued the life of Peter.

Possible Songs:
SL # 516 Search Me Oh God
SL # 466 I’ll say “Yes, Lord, Yes”