Fallen But Forgiven | Sunday Message

0:09 Let's say you're feeling lethargic and tired. You know, if you have a diet of social media and you don't take time for the Word of God, this is going to have a damaging effect. So this is just one of the things we talk about in this new book called What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know. Available at harvest.org. Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie, encouraging you. If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Good afternoon. Let's pray. Lord, as we have just sung, now we pray that we are grateful for you because we're always on your mind. And we know the thoughts that you think toward us are, well, they're good thoughts. You tell us in Jeremiah 29, 11, I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. We're thankful for that.

1:15 Now, bless this time as we open your word, as we talk about a serious subject, falling away spiritually and how you can restore people who have fallen away. And I pray for anyone hearing or this message today, if they are falling away or have fallen away, may this be a day of homecoming for them. And for some who have never come to know you at all, may this be a day of transformation for them. We commit this time of Bible study to you now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You can all be seated. Well, we're in the gospel of Luke. So why don't you grab your Bible and turn to Luke chapter 22. We're now in the final section of Luke's gospel. And we're going to follow Jesus from the upper room to the cross of Calvary, to the empty tomb and the ascension. We put our cross up here to remind us of what we're talking about. And this is a very important section. And the title of my message is Fallen But Forgiven. So imagine for a moment if you got a call from your Christian friend. Hello. Hey dude. Instead of going to church today, why don't we go and backslide? You know, go out and party and get drunk and get our wives alienated and our families turning from us and ruin our testimony. Maybe we'll even become addicted to something.

2:43 What do you say? What idiot would agree to that? Why? Because no one backslides overnight. It's a process. It takes time. A misstep here. A compromise there. Another area where we're sinking. Interestingly, the Bible does tell us one of the signs of the last days, in addition to the ones we've talked about in our last message, is what is called an apostasy, or a falling away from the faith. It tells us over in 1 Timothy 4.1, the spirit speaks clearly that in the last days some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings that come from demons. So yes, it's going to happen. Now you say, well, I hope it doesn't happen to me. Well, it doesn't have to. A person makes choices that lead to this. And if they make other choices, it will not lead to this. It's really up to you. But it is a reality, and it happens to people more often than they may realize. Think of it this way. If you are not progressing as a Christian, you are by default regressing. If you're not taking ground, you are in effect beginning to lose ground. As I've said before, the Christian life is like a grease pole. You're either climbing or slipping. Every day I should be learning more like Jesus. Every day I should become more like Christ. Every day I should be growing in my knowledge of scripture. Every day there's a lot of growth to take place in my life. And when I'm not growing, I'm going to by default start going in the opposite direction. Hebrews 2.1 says, we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard or we may drift away from it.

4:33 It's like a ship that is not anchored, drifting away from its harbor. You're not gonna automatically drift toward a godly life. You have to put effort in that. I'm not suggesting salvation comes through human effort, but I am suggesting spiritual growth does come by applying the truths of scripture. And so this is something we don't wanna see happen. We don't want to drift toward an ungodly life. And maybe I'm talking to somebody right now that feels pretty beaten up spiritually. Maybe today as you're hearing this message, you have failed in some way, shape, or form. Maybe it's a moral failure. Maybe you failed your spouse, your kids, failed your Lord. You've fallen and you wonder, can I be forgiven? You're sort of like that lady in that Life Alert commercial. I've fallen and I can't get up. Why are you laughing? That's so sad. No, she's just an actress. Not a very good one, I might add.

5:31 And by the way, I'm for life alert. I may be needing one soon. I don't know. But I've fallen and I can't get up. I may be describing you spiritually. You don't know how to get back on your feet again spiritually. We'll find out in the text before us. So let's set the scene before we read some verses. Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples. They're about to have what will be known as the Last Supper. They don't know it's the Last Supper, but indeed it is. He reveals that one of them is going to betray him. Interestingly, every disciple says, is it me, Lord? And then he identifies the betrayer, the one who is dipping with me right now. So back then they would take their bread, dip it into various things like hummus and things like that, or hummus, however you say it. And so at that moment, Judas was dipping his bread into the hummus with Jesus. The one who's dipping with me is the betrayer. And Judas is like, don't. Okay. So sort of like when you go to a Mexican restaurant, you get chips and salsa, right? And by the way, don't double dip. You go in with the chip, eat the whole chip. Don't come back with a half bit chip back into that salsa. That is not allowed. Okay. I just wanted to say that. That's all you're going to remember from the sermon. Judas is identified. Jesus effectively says, just go do it. Whatever you do, do it quickly. Get out of here. And Judas leaves.

7:00 And that's what Jesus says. This is what is happening. And Peter sees this as a great opportunity to boast of his faith. And then he tells the others that even though others might betray Jesus, he won't. So Jesus drops this bombshell on Peter in Luke 22 verse 31. Simon, Simon, indeed Satan has asked for you. That could be better translated. Satan has been excessively asking for you by name, that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your face should not fail. And when you've returned to me, strengthen your brothers. Peter says, Lord, I'm ready to go to prison with you, even to die with you. Jesus said, Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me. Wow. Roosters are interesting birds, aren't they? They have an internal clock that you can mark time by. On Maui, when we go over there and visit, and by the way, our church is facing a big storm right now. They shut all the power down on the entire island of Maui, but they went and met for church anyway, without power. They have the power of the Holy Spirit, of course, but they're worshiping. But when I go over there, I get up early for coffee because I'm in California time. So, you know, it's seven o'clock to me. It's later. So, or earlier rather. No, it's earlier over there. Right. And so I'm up at the crack of dawn, four o'clock, maybe three o'clock sometimes. And there's one coffee place that opens at five. I go there to get my coffee in the morning.

8:45 And this rooster crows every morning. It's not even really officially morning. The sun does not begin to rise. But those roosters have that internal clock, sort of like a time stamp. Jesus is saying, there's going to be a time stamp on your denials. I'm predicting it with specific details. It must have alarmed Peter when Jesus said, Satan has been asking for you. Can you imagine? You're just hanging out with Jesus. He turns to you, uses your name, John, John. Mary, Mary. Satan has been asking excessively for you by name that you would be taken out of the care and protection of God. But that's exactly what was happening. But the good news is Jesus says, but I have prayed for you. So the next time the devil comes knocking at your door, ask Jesus to get it. He's the most qualified one to answer. But notice that Satan had to ask first. Nothing can happen in the life of the child of God without our father's permission. We see this in the book of Job. It started when God was bragging on Job in the presence of the angels, including Lucifer, Satan. And God said, have you considered my servant Job a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and shuns evil? The devil says, loose paraphrase, give me a break.

10:10 Job follows you because you give him cool stuff. Give me a little time with Job. We'll see what he's made of. And the Lord allowed a series of calamities to befall his servant, but he said to the devil, he's in your hand, but don't touch his life. And yes, a series of difficulties came in the life of Job. And when I read that verse about God bragging on Job, I'm inclined to say, Lord, if you're ever for a moment feeling proud of me, just keep it to yourself. Especially if Lucifer's around, I mean. And here's Job, a godly man who was walking closely with the Lord that had his world fall apart overnight. He lost his family. He lost his livelihood. He lost his health. He probably wished he'd lost his wife too, frankly. Because after all this happened, Mrs. Job, we don't know her name, Mrs. Job says, why don't you just curse God and die? Thank you for those encouraging words. Imagine getting a card like that in the mail. You're going through a hard time on the cover. It says, in sympathy, you open it up. Why don't you just curse God and die? That's what she said. But this happened not because he was godless, but because he was godly. But the point Jesus is making is the devil is asking for you, but I am praying for you. Years ago, I was with Billy Graham, and I don't know what I was asking him to pray for, but I said, Billy, would you pray for me, please, about this?

11:39 And he said yes. And as he was praying, I remember thinking, this prayer is going to be so heard by God. I mean, this is Billy Graham praying for me by name. And yes, his prayer was heard by God, But not any more than your prayer being heard by God. Not any more than my prayer being heard by God. Because we go through Jesus Christ and he hears all of our prayers. But here's the thing. Jesus Christ is interceding for you as well. Romans 8.34 says, who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life. listen, is at the right hand of God and he's interceding for you. An old preacher from days gone by, Robert Murray McShane, said this, and I quote, if I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me, end quote. And Jesus is saying, I'm praying that your faith will not fail. Jesus is saying, you're going to have a lapse, but you're going to come back stronger as a result. Verse 32 of Luke 22, I prayed for you that your faith will not fail. When you've returned to me, strengthen your brothers. And Peter did come back stronger as a result. He wrote about it in his own epistle, 1 Peter chapter 5. And he says, after you've suffered a little while, God will restore you, support and strengthen you, and place you on a firm foundation. So Peter came through his storm.

13:21 And maybe you're going through a storm. And by a storm, I mean a hardship, a trial, a time of difficulty. And I want you to know this about your storm. It has a beginning, middle, and end. And God is fully aware of what you are going through, and he has an objective. I'm sure there are certain things he wants you to learn, certain changes he wants to make in your life, and when that is completed, your storm will end and a new one will begin. But we don't know how long that will take. But you're always gonna face calamity and difficulty. Jesus said in this world, you will have tribulation, but God's in control. Going back to Job again, he said of the Lord, he knows the way that I take, and when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. God's gonna help you through whatever it is you're facing.

14:14 David said, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. He didn't say, yea, though I collapse and die in the valley of the shadow of death. God's gonna get you through what you're facing. He's preparing you for something in your future. But why, we might ask. was the devil targeting Peter in particular. Because the devil saw Peter as a threat against the kingdom of darkness, and he wanted to take him out. Satan can spot a spiritual leader as well. He knows who effective people are, and he will attack them. So if you find yourself coming under spiritual attack, that can actually be a good sign, not a bad one. Going back to Job, why did all that stuff happen to him? because he was godless? No, to the contrary, because he was godly. Why are you going through hardship? Why are you getting tempted more than ever? Why are you facing these difficulties?

15:14 Why is this happening to you? Probably because you're a threat to the kingdom of darkness. So take it as a compliment. He says, I want Peter, I want to bring him down. And tragically, Peter did succumb to these enticements and he fell into sin and openly denied Jesus. There are six steps that led to Peter's fall. And you'll probably look at your own life and find that you have fallen in one of these areas. Let's see if we can identify them together. Step number one, self-confidence. Self-confidence. After Jesus announces he will be betrayed, Peter said, even if all are made to stumble, I will never be made to stumble. Wait, hello? What? Effectively saying, even if these other apostles fall and fail, I never will. Please. The Bible says pride goes before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction. And by the way, Jesus said he would fall. So he's directly contradicting what Jesus has already said. And also in the gospel of Mark, we read that he said this repeatedly. He kept discerning it. I will never let you down. I will never fail. Wow.

16:33 Minds me of a story of two ducks and a frog. I'd like to hang out by a little pond owned by Farmer Brown. And they would have a lot of great conversations together. Here's a picture of them. I took this picture myself. And so they would talk all the time. And the problem is that little pond was beginning to dry up. So the frog had a brilliant idea. He said to the ducks, look, You guys can just fly away to another pond. But I'm stuck here. And if I stay here, I will, pardon the pun, croak. You got to get me out of here, guys. And I have an idea. Why don't you take a stick and put it between your beaks. And I'll hang onto the stick with my mouth. And you can airlift me to the next pond. The ducks agreed. We got a picture of it somehow. There they are.

17:21 And so as they're flying away, Farmer Brown is down there in the field, and he looks up, and he sees this amazing sight. And he says out loud, this is incredible. This is brilliant. Who thought of it? And the frog opening his mouth said, I did. Get it? He was hanging on by his mouth. And when he opened it and said, I did, he fell to his tragic death. Oh, I don't know if he died or not. It's just a fable. But the point of it is, oh, I want to take credit for that. That's what Peter was doing. I'll never deny you. I'll never let you down. Again, first step down, self-confidence. Now we come to Peter's second step down. Go back to Luke 22, verse 39. it was prayerlessness. Accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room, or the upper room, and went as usual to the Mount of Olives.

18:22 And he told them, pray that you not give in to temptation. And he walked away about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed, praying, Father, if you're willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. Why are you sleeping, Jesus asks them. Watch and pray, so you will not give in to temptation. Now Jesus is contemplating his future. Jesus was fully God. Which means Jesus was omniscient.

19:16 Which means all knowing. He knew everything. When someone said to him he could see their heart. He knew if they meant it or not. I'm kind of glad I'm not omniscient. I wouldn't like to know what people really think of me. I think for a large degree. Or he also knew what was coming. He knew the future. He knew that he was going to be betrayed. He knew that he was going to have the beard of his face pulled out. He knew that he was going to have a crown of thorns placed on his head. He knew that they were going to tear his back open with a Roman cat of nine tails. He knew they were going to pound spikes through his hands and feet and nail him to a cross. He knew all of it. But that is not what he recoiled from the most. What he recoiled from the most was the knowledge that he who was sinless and pure was going to take upon himself everything that was sinful and impure. He was going to die and bear the sin of the world.

20:15 And from this he recoiled. And he said, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. Why? Because he had never spent a moment outside of fellowship with his father. Jesus said, I always do the things that please the Father. Who could say that but Jesus? I couldn't, you couldn't. But he always was in harmony with the Father. Now he's gonna be separated from the Father by your sin, by my sin, by our sin. And that's why he said, let this cup pass from me. And Luke gives us this interesting detail saying he sweat as it were, King James, like great drops of blood. Now, I wonder if this is a description of a medical condition known as hematidrosis. This is very rare, but certain people have experienced when they're under intense psychological stress or physical pressure where their sweat or perspiration is literally mixed with blood.

21:16 And it looks like they're sweating blood. This could be what Jesus was experiencing, but he was recoiling from this horrible moment. And he asked one thing of his disciples. And specifically Peter, James, and John. He said, would you guys just be with me? And would you pray? Peter, James, and John. Man, they got to see some pretty amazing things. It was Peter, James, and John that Jesus took with him to the Mount of Transfiguration. Where he shined like the sun with Moses on one side and Elijah on the other. It was Peter, James, and John who got a front row seat to see Jesus raise the daughter of Jairus from the dead. And it's Peter, James, and John that Jesus singles out and says, Come with me to this garden and just watch and pray. He wasn't asking for explanations. He wasn't asking for anything more or less than just some human companionship.

22:15 Yes, Jesus was fully God. but he was also fully man. He experienced loneliness. He experienced sorrow. He experienced betrayal. And he said, I just want you guys to be with me at this particular time. And this is a reminder to us that when someone is suffering, the best thing you can do is sometimes just be there. You don't have to explain everything to everyone because you don't know anyway, nor do I. You should have met me when I was 21. Starting out my ministry, I had the answer to every question. I pretty much knew everything, or I thought I did. Now at the age of 41, I can say, many years beyond that, I realize now that I don't know as much as I thought I knew. And I know what this is like to be in the receiving end, because when our son died in an automobile accident 18 years ago, Our home filled with many well-meaning well-wishers who wanted to say something that would encourage or help us in our darkest hour.

23:24 And some said helpful things and others not knowing what to say maybe tried to explain it. I didn't need an explanation. You know, I've given the explanations which there are very few to give at times like that. I just needed someone to be there. And there were a few people that didn't have a lot to say, but they said, I'm so sorry, I'm here for you. Sometimes that's the best thing to say. Sometimes less is more. Just say, I'm so sorry. I don't know why this happened, but I'm praying for you. That's actually helpful. You see, leave the explanations up to God. Just be there. That's all Jesus asked for. I could use a little human companionship right now. Would you just watch and pray? And he goes, he sweats, as it were, great drops of blood comes back, and Peter, James, and John are sleeping. They were guilty of the sin of prayerlessness. What is prayerlessness? It's just not praying. I think we all would agree we need to pray more. Am I right? I know I need to pray more. I don't pray as often as I should.

24:29 Billy Graham was once asked, do you have any regrets in life? He said, yeah, I wish I'd not spoken as much as I spoke and traveled as much as I traveled. I wish I had spent more time praying and telling the Lord how much I love him. I think that's good advice. We all need to pray more because not praying can be a sin as much as breaking a commandment. We think of sins as doing the wrong thing and it includes that, but there are sins of commission and omission. A sin of commission is when I do what I should not do. A sin of omission is when I don't do what I should do. The Bible says, to him that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. So you might be scrolling on your phone, your eyes are going blurry, and the Lord taps you on the shoulder and says, yeah, I'd like you to pray right now.

25:21 You're like, uh, not right now, right? Maybe you're doing something on Sunday. I don't know if we should go to church. The Lord's saying, no, go worship with my, I don't really want to do that. That could be a sin. Maybe the Lord nudges you and says, go share the gospel with that person that looks so sad and dejected sitting on a bench over there. And you say, no way they might reject me. That could be a sin. You know to do good and you do not do it. Jesus said, watch and pray. They weren't watching and praying. They were slumbering and sleeping. Step number three that led to Peter's fall, self-reliance. Self-reliance. Go back to Luke 22, verse 47. We read that a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of his 12 disciples. Jesus walked, excuse me, Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. Jesus said, Judas, why do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? And when the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, Lord, should we fight. We brought the swords. And one of them, who another gospel tells us was Peter, struck the high priest slave, who we find out in another gospel was named Malchus Van Gogh. I don't know if you know that. Malchus Van Gogh, because he sliced off his ear. Get it? This is a joke. Do you know Van Gogh cut his ear off? The great artist. That's a great way to impress a girl. He cut his ear off and mailed it to a girl.

26:53 Don't do this at home. Okay. Or anywhere else. His name was not Van Gogh, but it was Malchus. He cuts off the guy's ear. And then we read that Jesus healed his ear. Now, you can understand Peter's outrage. Here he is. He's so upset. He's failed. He loves the Lord. He wants to do the right thing. And here comes a temple guard led by Judas Iscariot. And Judas comes over and kisses Jesus. Now there were three ways you could kiss a person back in this culture. You could kiss him on the feet. That was a sign of respect. Like you might do for a king or a ruler. You could kiss him on the hand. That was a cordial greeting. And then you could kiss him on the cheek. That was reserved for friends and intimates. How did Judas kiss Jesus? Did he kiss him on the feet or on the hand?

27:45 No. He kissed him on the cheek. and in the original language it's implied he did so repeatedly. He kissed him again and again and again. So it's sort of like we meet someone first time. Hello, how are you? We shake their hand. Maybe give them a high five, right? But then you get to know him a little better and now the hug thing comes in. Is this a person I hug or a person I don't hug? You know what I'm saying? And they go in for the hug and you don't know if you should go in for the hug and it becomes an awkward half hug. You know what I'm saying? But then there are people you really know. you give them a full hug, or if you're a guy, you start punching them. Because, you know, we don't love the hugs. So I speak for men. We don't love the hugs. Okay. Some guys do, but most, eh, you know. Hey, how's it going? But this is an act of intimacy. Like, look how well I know Jesus. Look how close I am to Christ. I'm kissing him again and again, causing even Jesus to say, do you betray me with against Peter's just ticked off. He pulls out the sword, takes a wild swing, and off comes the ear of this guy Malchus, who was a servant to the high priest. And why did his ear get cut off? Probably because he led the charge. And Jesus could have said, serve you right, you creep. But what does Jesus do? He reaches down on the ground, picks up the guy's ear, holds it up to his face, and reattaches it. The last miracle of Jesus was this. Jesus who raised people from the dead, who restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf. Jesus who walked on the water.

29:22 Takes time to heal this guy's ear. And then on the cross he says, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Peter's fourth step down was following at a distance. Go back to Luke 22 Verse 54, they arrested him, led him to the high priest's home, and Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there, following at a distance. Non-committal, sort of a half-hearted commitment. There's people like this in the church. They always sit in the last row. Not really. they always come late leave early yeah that maybe i'll stand by they don't get involved in anything they you don't worship it's like we have a song you're literally singing i lift both of my hands i got hands on the pockets i don't know about that a little emotional i'll scream like a maniac at a ball game but i'm not lifting my hands in church because that's too emotional i'm here i'm attending but I really want to get out of here as soon as possible and I've looked at my watch 10 times already.

30:33 Okay, look, I get it and I'm glad you're here, frankly. But you miss out on so much when you follow at a distance. Reminds me of a story I heard of a little boy who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. I'm not laughing, it's not funny, but I don't even know the true story, frankly. Little boy who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. His mom asked him, what happened? The little boy said, I think I stayed too close to the place where I got in. Get it? We fall sometimes when we stay too close to the place where we got in. Don't follow at a distance. Now we come to the fifth step down. Wrong associations. Wrong associations. Go back to Luke 22. And then we read in verse 55. the guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them.

31:28 A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally, she said, this man is one of Jesus' followers. Peter denied it. Woman, he said. I don't even know him. After a while, someone else looked at him and said, you must be one of them. No, man, I'm not, Peter retorted. About an hour later, that's interesting to me, I'd underline that. An hour passes. An hour later and someone else insisted, you must be one of them because you're a Galilean too. Peter said, man, I don't know what you're talking about. Immediately while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And at that moment, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly the Lord flash through Peter's mind before the rooster crows tomorrow morning. You'll deny me three times that you even know me. And Peter left the courtyard weeping bitterly. Wow. He set the enemy's fire. He's with the wrong people at the wrong place at the wrong time. And he's about to do the wrong thing. And this can happen to us too. Don't be surprised when you hang around with godless people and go to godless places and end up doing godless things. Show me your friends, I'll show you your future. Psalm 1 says, blessed or happy is the man or the woman that does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful, but instead his delight is in the word of the Lord and in it does he meditate day and night.

33:05 You see, Peter was at the enemy's fire, so to speak. And we actually read in Matthew's gospel, he came to see the end. Sad, though Jesus spoke repeatedly about his crucifixion, he also spoke about his resurrection. Peter seemed to forget all that, and he thought, well, this is the end, and might as well be here to witness it. And that brings us to his final step down, number six, his denial. And don't miss the fact that an hour passed, He had plenty of time to get out of there. We might criticize Peter for that. Why didn't he leave? Well, have you ever given in to temptation? Have you ever stayed where you were instead of walking out when you could? And that's what Peter failed to do. And then they identify him by his Galilean accent. Oh, you're a Galilean.

33:57 Now, this is sort of like a sophisticated, educated person saying to someone who has not been educated, does not have a degree, well, you wouldn't know you're not educated like I am. That's how the people in Jerusalem viewed the people from Galilee. Or it might be like a person living in the big city looking askance from someone from the country. Oh, you don't know what you're talking about. You're like a country bumpkin. Oh, you've got the Galilean accent. And Peter denies that he knows Jesus and he took an oath and swore he never knew him. Now that doesn't mean that he used profanity. It's even worse actually. The phrase that is used by saying he took an oath means he literally said, I swear to God, I never knew Jesus. And what would be the most extreme version of taking the Lord's name in vain?

34:55 Peter in effect said, I swear to God, I never knew Jesus. And then Jesus walked by and he saw Jesus. Wow. The rooster crows, the denial happens, and he makes eye contact with Christ. Now, the Lord is probably being led from one place to another and there in the glow of the fire, Peter looked at Jesus and Jesus looked at Peter. Now, how did Jesus look at Peter? It can be translated, Jesus looked right through Peter. Have you ever had someone look right through you? Let me restate the question. Do you have a mother?

35:35 Remember when you were in trouble as a kid? Where have you been? Or maybe you're with your wife or your husband out at dinner with friends. They say something they're not supposed to say. You give them the look like... They don't respond. They keep talking. You kick them under the table. You're giving them the look. Nothing, right? Is that what Jesus did? Did he see Peter there in the glow of the fire and just give him the look? Like, how dare you? Or did he roll his eyes? Like, hey, I said you'd do this. No, I think actually, I don't know this factually, but I think he looked at him with love. He had already predicted this. Remember he said, when you're converted, strengthen your brothers. You're going to be back, Peter. And that's what broke Peter's heart. That's why Peter went out and wept bitterly.

36:30 So he still loved Peter. He knew Peter would do this. Did Peter fail? Yes, miserably. Did Peter deny the Lord? Yes, with an oath. Was Peter still a believer? Absolutely. He was a fallen believer. But Jesus said, I'm going to restore you again. Because God would use this failure as a way to encourage others who have failed. Because we follow a God that gives second chances. You know, it's interesting. Two people went into the darkness of night. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him, went and took his own life. And Simon Peter wept bitterly, but he returned to Jesus again. Peter was broken, but not abandoned. He had failed, but he was not finished. He wept, but his story did not end in tears because Jesus restored him.

37:27 So we flash forward now to John 21. Christ is risen. Peter and the others go out and fish. They catch nothing. Sounds familiar. It's early morning. the sun has not yet risen. They hear a voice call from the shore, boys, have you caught anything? One of them is probably thinking, who's it calling boys? We're adult men. Boys, get anything? No. Why don't you throw the net on the other side of the boat? One of them says, I think we've heard this somewhere before. And they throw the net on the other side of the boat and they're pulling in so many fish they can't contain them. And John, often the most perceptive of the disciples, said, it's the Lord. Peter is so excited he can't wait to row to shore. He dives out of the boat, swims to shore, and there sits Jesus. Imagine the scene. There's a fire. There's the Lord. He says, bring me the fish you caught. And Peter brings him the fish and Jesus prepares it. And then he says this, come and have breakfast. I love that scene. Come and have breakfast. I would love to have breakfast with Jesus, wouldn't you? But he was a great chef, still bearing in his hands the marks of the crucifixion. So he prepares this meal. They eat the meal in silence. And finally, Jesus turns to Peter and says, Peter, do you love me? Peter, in the glow of the fire, is thinking, ah, this is kind of a deja vu all over again moment. Oh yeah, I denied him in the glow of a fire. And here he is asking me if I love him. Do you love me? Ask Jesus. And Peter says, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my sheep. A moment passes. Jesus says, Peter, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these? Ah, notice the difference. But first it's, do you love me? Now, do you love me more than these? The other Peter, the old Peter would have said, oh yes, I love you more than these. Oh, I'll deny you. I'll never deny you. The new improved, repentant, humbled Peter says, Lord, you know I love you. Feed my lambs. And a third time he says,

39:39 feed my sheep. What's the point of this? Jesus was recommissioning Peter. Jesus was giving Peter a second chance. And God will give a second chance to any person who comes to their senses and comes to him or returns to him. Jeremiah 3.22, the Lord says, return, faithless people, and I will cure you of backsliding. The Bible says, seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on the Lord while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to our God who will pardon abundantly. Do you need to return to our God? Do you need to come back to the Lord? Have you failed like Peter? Maybe not by denying him, but in other ways. Have you backslidden?

40:32 Are you backsliding? Or maybe you've never known Jesus at all. You know all about Jesus. You were raised going to church. But have you asked Christ to come and live in your heart as your Savior and your Lord? You say, well, I think so. You think so? if Christ is living in you, you'll know it. If someone moved into your house at three o'clock in the morning, do you think you'd know? They're cooking fish in the morning. What's going on here? I'm not implying becoming a Christian is like having someone move in your house and cook fish. What I'm saying is you would know if someone moved in your house and if the creator of the universe has taken residence in your heart, you'll know it. And if you don't know it, maybe it's because he hasn't yet. Okay, well, what am I supposed to do? You need to invite him in. You see, being a Christian isn't becoming more religious. Being a Christian isn't following a list of rules and regulations.

41:30 Being a Christian is Christ living in you. It's a relationship. The Bible says, for as many as received him, he gave the power to become sons of God. Jesus says, behold, I stand at the door and I knock. and if you will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. Have you asked Jesus to come into your life? If not, why don't you do it right now? Right now. Without delay or come back to him. He's just a prayer away. In a moment, I'm gonna pray for you and hopefully pray with you and give you an opportunity for you to put your faith in Jesus Christ, for you to be forgiven of your sin, For you to know that when you die, you will go to heaven. For you to fill that void deep in your life. Let's pray.

42:22 Now, Father, I pray for everyone here. If there's anyone here that does not know you, and I'm sure there are some, or if there's anyone here that has fallen away from you, let this be the moment they return, return to you and be forgiven of their sin. Now, while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, and we're praying. How many today would say, I need Jesus Christ. I want Christ to come into my life and I want him to forgive me of my sin. And I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. Pray for me, I want Jesus to come into my life now. If that's your desire, if you want Christ to come into your heart, if you want to fill that void in your life, if you want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die, would you just lift your hand up wherever you are and I'm going to pray for you.

43:14 God bless you. Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you. Raise your hand up. God bless. I can't see you guys everywhere. Some of you are watching on a screen in Riverside or in an overflow room here, but you can raise your hand as well. The Lord sees you. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. You want Christ in your life today. Let me pray for you. God bless you. Yes. I'll wait one more moment. Anybody else? you want Jesus to come into your heart and life raise your hand up and I'll pray for you now while our heads are still bowed maybe there's someone that would say I've fallen just like Peter I've messed up but I want to come back to the Lord I'm a prodigal son I'm a prodigal daughter and I want to return to the Lord today if that's your desire raise your hand up and let me pray for you You want to come back to the Lord, make that recommitment to him.

44:14 God bless you and you. Raise your hand up. You want to recommit your life to Christ. Let me pray for you. Raise your hand. God bless all of you. Now, every one of you that has raised your hand, I want you to pray this prayer with me. You can pray it out loud if you like, but pray it after me. Pray these words if you would, please. Pray, Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you as my Savior and Lord, as my God and my friend from this day forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. God bless each one of you that pray that prayer.

45:07 God bless. Hey, everybody. Thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org.