It has always been easy for me to see myself in the apostle Peter. Just like him, I’ve had a list of things that I believed I would never do. I even boldly pronounced to others that I’d never do these things.
What about you? Do you have any of these? “I would never ______________”.
And just like Peter I’ve got a list of my “I never” that now “I did”. What is yours? That thing that you thought you’d never do—but you did?
Your fall followed the same pattern as that of the apostle Peter. You were confident that it couldn’t happen to you. You knew it was possible for other people. “Even if all of these people fall into this sin—I won’t. I’m stronger. I’m prayed up. I’m a leader in the church. I’m a faithful man. I’m a God-fearing mom. Not me. Jesus has rescued me from all of that stuff. I’m a disciple. I’m never going to fall. Once saved, always saved.”
Slowly you became less dependent on Christ and more secure in your faith. There is a difference, by the way. And you started reading those verses for other people. You read Proverbs 7 about not even passing along the street near the prostitute’s house. And it doesn’t rattle your own soul. This one applies to the fool, I’m not a fool. I’m probably strong enough to walk next to her house. (I can handle this movie, this video game with nudity. I can handle this temptation. It’s not a struggle for me anymore).
And then BAM! You did it. The cards felt stacked against you. You felt sifted like wheat. You didn’t stand a chance. That thing that you never thought you would do—you’ve done it.
And here we identify with Peter. Have you been there? That thing that you wish that nobody knew, that you want to keep hidden until your grave, those things that you are deeply ashamed of, that stuff that you wonder—“how in the world did I just do that”. You can’t bear the pain of looking at them. And yet, the Lord in all of His holiness, “turns and looks”. “I know what you did.” You are flooded with conviction. Your only recourse is to be like the apostle—“weep bitterly”.
This sermon is about those things:
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If you give this sermon a listen you’ll notice a prayer and a song/video in the middle. This sermon was actually one that I preached in two parts of the service. We’d never done anything like that and it seemed to work pretty well.
— photo credit: virtualwayfarer via photopin cc
