[Track 8, 2:11]

 

But if we function in that kind of mindset, how committed are we going to be to bending the knee in prayer? Do you find it amazing, intriguing that on the night of Jesus' arrest, the Son of God, the creator of all things, the sovereign Lord of the universe is on His face, desperately crying out to God in prayer. And a couple, relatively ignorant, personality-deficient, weak-kneed, ex-fisherman from Galilee are sleeping at the same time instead of praying. I mean, if anybody did not need to pray, wouldn't it be Jesus?

 

"Let there be light." Boom! There's light.

 

Yet, by the word of His voice, this Man in the garden created everything in existence. He's the Lord of the universe.

 

He proved it on the Sea of Galilee one day. There's this raging storm. And the disciples wake him up and He says, "Be still sea."

 

[Tschew!] Mirror.

 

I mean, what was the point of that? Well, just to help them understand that He's sovereign over the universe.

 

Yet this One is praying. And the disciples are sleeping. Something wrong with that picture? What's wrong with that picture is what's wrong with our picture every single day we do not find ourselves utterly passionate and dependent as we pour out our hearts to God begging His involvement in our lives to supply what is absolutely missing in us as we face the challenges of another day of serving Him.

 

And what if we don't bother to open our mouths in defense of Christ? Because we know we'll fail. You know why we don't share the Gospel as often as we ought to? And I'm speaking to myself here. I've failed this week a couple times. I hate it. Because we lack courage.

 

And the reason we lack courage is we step out of our homes in the [end of track 8, 5:00] morning, dressed and presenting ourself to the world in the full panoply of our own abilities. And we’ve failed to seek divine help.

 

And that was Peter. Jesus told him, and the rest in the garden, watch and pray, Peter. The Spirit is willing. The word means eager. But the flesh is weak -- Literally, powerless.

 

But Peter didn’t believe that. “Powerless, Lord? Come on, you know me better than that. My spirit is eager. I’ll be the first to raise my hand. I’ll be the first to raise my voice. I’ll be the first to draw my sword. That’s eagerness. And the flesh, Lord, is powerful. I can handle it.”

 

And so he failed to believe what Jesus said about him. And when the test came, the concrete turned to sand and there was nothing to hold him up in that moment of testing.

 

Is prayer a regular part of your strategy for spiritual survival and growth? Is PRAYER a REGULAR PART of your STRATEGY?

 

I’m not saying “tradition” or “ritual” or “habit pattern.” We do certain things out of habit. Do you have to go to a list on the refrigerator door at night before you go to bed and say, “Oh! Brush teeth. Yep.” and go and brush your teeth? Go back. You know? Go through a tick list.

 

There are some things we just do out of sheer habit. And sometimes in the morning, without going to a tick list on the refrigerator, we just pray. We just read our Bibles and pray because that’s what we do. It’s part of our habit of life.

 

I’m not talking about habits of life here. I’m talking about strategic plans. Is regular prayer part of your strategy for spiritual success in the ministry that God has called you to as you live your life in the home and outside of the home?

 

There’s plenty of our brothers and sisters who are caving in all around us. One could ask any one of them, as they drop over the edge spiritually -- you could go up and you could interview any one of them and say, “When did you leave off praying?” Not “Did you?” but “When did you?”

 

Because of course they have. They left off praying as a regular strategy for their spiritual success and growth. They might have continued praying. They might have prayed the morning they fell. But it wasn’t as a regular, strategic plan in their desire to grow spiritually and be the man or woman that God wants them to be.

 

Thirdly, there was too much distance between Jesus [Peter?] and Christ. Peter followed Jesus, verse 15 tells us. But Luke 22, verse 54 tells us how he followed Jesus. The army came and seized Jesus and Peter, Luke says, followed Him, how? Yeah, you got it -- “afar off” -- from a distance.

 

You know what that means? That means, here was a disciple who was committed to following Jesus Christ in the flesh. He was armed with the flesh. He was Peter, the bombastic, courageous disciple, who was ready to stick up in a moment’s notice and identify himself as one of Jesus’ guys.

 

But when the test came. When the opposition outnumbered them. When it looked like it could endanger his life and health and safety, he followed, but he put a distance between him. You know what that distance represents? Safety.

 

“I will follow Jesus Christ to the extent and as close as I can in a safe sense.” Forget risks. Forget dying. Forget insults and injury. Let there be distance.

 

Peter’s separation ended up putting him very close to the enemies [end of track 9, 5:00] of Jesus Christ. Instead of separating himself from the enemies of Christ and being close to Jesus, he was separating himself from Jesus and being close to the enemies.

 

That, we read also in verse 18: They were standing and warming themselves and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.

 

There is a sense, I think, in which it is true that you are what you cling to. Separation from the world is one of the most criticized teachings in the Bible. But strangely enough, very little is said about a believer’s separation from Jesus.

 

You can live as separated from Jesus as you possibly can be. You can put as much distance between you and Christ as you possibly can and you can still be regarded as a good Christian. But if you separate from the world, that’s kind of kinky, that’s stupid, that’s dumb. Come on! Be mature. We can handle it.

 

Who are you getting your values from? Who are you taking your counsel from? Who are you getting your support and energy from? Who are you depending on for friendship? Where are you getting your praise and acceptance? Is it the culture of the world or the culture of Christ?

 

[track 10, 1:26]

 

I gotta make an adjustment here because I’m sounding like I’m preaching mad. But I’m not mad. I’m burdened about this because I see it in myself and I see it around me. I don’t see a church that has this courage that is the proper mix of concrete and sand and water, but there’s way too much sand in it. I’m talking to myself.

 

We’re way too much like Peter and not enough like Mary, who was right there at the foot of the cross. “I don’t care what you do to me. This is my place. I’ll be there.”

 

Remember Jesus’ prayer in John chapter 17? When He expressed His desire for His followers, the church? He said, “I’m praying for them. Holy Father, keep them in your name, that they may be one, even as we are one. That they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. Keep them from the evil one.” He prayed, “They’re not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. I’ve sent them into the world.”

 

He prayed all those things.

 

So what does closeness to Jesus Christ look like? If we know what distance looks like, but what does closeness look like?

 

It’s Christ’s character in us. “Keep them in my name, your name.” That’s holiness.

 

It’s one with Jesus Christ and each other, which Jesus prayed for. That’s unity.

 

It’s the joy of Christ within us. We don’t need a new word for that. It’s joy.

 

“Keep them from the evil one.” That’s separation from sin.

 

Sanctified in truth. “Sanctify them through your truth.” That’s spiritual growth.

 

Sent into the world. That’s evangelism.

 

That’s what it looks like to be close to Jesus Christ.

 

Questions (time’s up):

 

Was Peter bold and courageous? Yes.

 

Did Peter love Jesus? Is there any question in your mind about whether Peter loved Jesus? I don’t think there ought to be. Peter loved Jesus.

 

Was he a committed follower of Jesus Christ? You know, I think, “Yes.” Probably more than most.

 

But, again, there was just simply too much sand in the concrete. There was too much Peter. There was too much normal, natural DNA. What should have been strong was seriously diluted. But the weakness could only be seen once the pressure was applied. The gusset plates were too thin, so the bridge collapsed.

 

[Track 10, 4:22]

 

But here’s what I want to leave you with. In the Gospel, Peter’s failure’s not the end of the story. Aren’t you glad the New Testament doesn’t end with chapter 18? Jesus....

 

I mean, we gotta hurry up and get to John 21. This is so precious. It’s the other side of this story. This is revealed for us so that when we get to John chapter 21 and see Jesus talking to Peter face to face, we say, “Whoa! This is rich!”

 

[End of track 10, 4:57]

 

As serious as Peter’s disowning of Jesus was -- it was a pathetic failure of superficial courage, bombastic professions of loyalty -- all of that. As serious as all that was, as big, as massive as Peter’s failure was, the grace of God is more massive. Where sin abounds, where stubbornness hangs out all over the place, grace super-abounds.

 

And that means there’s hope for all of us. Jesus had said -- John chapter 15 -- you gotta keep on going back to what Jesus is saying because the disciples aren’t getting it. They’re going to get it. It’s all gonna come clear eventually. But as Jesus is saying in John chapter 15, “I am the vine. You’re the branches. My Father’s the husbandman. Abide in me. Without me, you can do nothing.”

 

Do you think Peter caught that? Do you think he perked right up and said, “Wow! That’s a truth I gotta get my mind around.”

 

[Track 11, 1:27]