So in John chapter 6, just leading into the verses I'm going to read, look at verse 66. So it's a pretty long chapter. But Jesus is teaching some of his disciples, and this is the point where he has some hard teaching for them. And he tells them, there are some here that are not believing truly. He says in verse 64, but there are some of you that believe not, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him. So obviously Jesus in his foreknowledge knew. There's some here, you know, he has many more disciples. In verse 65, and he said, therefore said, and he said, therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my father. From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. So there was a larger group. And so from this time forward, it is whittled down to the 12. Many of them left. They followed him no more. Verse 67, this said, Jesus unto the 12, will ye also go away? And Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. So the first lesson of Peter. Peter had knowledge. He has the right answer here. We see that. He is thinking. He gives the correct answer. Lord, who else can we go to? Where else can I go and get what you are giving to me? So the first thing we see about Peter, he has the knowledge. I've said this with teenagers, but it's true as well with all of us. Knowledge about God is no substitute for relationship with Him. So you can know a lot about God. And I've talked about my personal testimony before, but I wasn't saved until I was 17. Not truly. I was in Christian school. I was in a good Baptist church. But I'd said a prayer when I was little, and I knew a lot about the Bible. I knew a lot about Jesus. I would have even told people that Jesus was the way to heaven. But I didn't have that relationship established with him. You can answer all the Bible questions in the world, but if you don't have that relationship established first, it doesn't mean anything. So with Peter, he has a lot of knowledge and he's loyal to Jesus, he's here, he stays. Even through the hard sayings, he stays. But we see as we go forward that he had some refining that needed to happen in himself. Second passage, I'll have you turn to Luke 22. Luke 22, we'll look at, it's a pretty long passage as well. So I'm sure this is a familiar passage. So at this time, Jesus has been taken. He is about to be scourged. He's about to be tried. He's about to, you know, walk to the cross and do all the things he did to save us. But we all know the story of Peter and his denial. We know he denied three times, and we know that Jesus told him he was going to deny three times. But I believe, you know, all the Gospels have this account. They're all a little bit different here in Verse 61. Verse 60. So this person has come this last time, and they say, I know you're with Jesus. You're a Galilean. You were with him. I've seen you. It'd be like, you know, if somebody says, aren't you with Pastor Bartlett? No, no, no, no. I don't know him. Again, somebody says, I've seen you with him before. No, no, I don't know him. Hey, you're from Charleston. Like, I know where you're from. This is you. He says, no, I do not know him. In Matthew, it actually says he goes as far as to curse and say, I do not know this man. What's peculiar here in this account in verse 61, and the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. So it's not just that Peter denied, but the third time when he denies, he sees Jesus. Now if you read earlier in the passage, I'm not going to just for sake of time, but he can see down to where Jesus is. It says that these people are gathered by fire, they're watching what happened. And so the third time that Peter denies, he meets eyes with Jesus. You think about the guilt he would have felt, the shame and the regret. We went actually to, pastor was talking about Red House Bible Church and I'm stealing this point from a phrase that the pastor said when he preached. He said, Peter felt the paw of the lion. And of course he's talking about Satan. So in, we don't have to turn here, I'll read this. Mark 8, 31 to 34, this is Jesus teaching his disciples. Peter's among them. And he began to teach that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him. How absurd that is. Jesus is teaching about what's going to happen and Peter takes the Lord's side and rebukes Jesus. the brashness of Peter, and then he continues verse 33, but when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, this is Jesus, he rebuked Peter saying, get thee behind me, Satan, for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. So Peter is rebuking Jesus. Jesus takes him and says, get thee behind me, Satan. You say, why does he say that to Peter? In verse 33, Peter is rebuked by Jesus for savoring the wrong things. That word savoring literally means tasting and completely enjoying. So it's not just that Peter is focused on the wrong things. He's focused on the now. He's like, I don't want these things to happen to Jesus. Jesus says, get behind me, Satan. You're savoring the things of the world and not the things of God. And then directly after that, verse 34, Jesus says, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. So he's telling him, Peter, you're savoring the wrong things. Daily, take up your cross and follow me. So He's telling us, if we savor the wrong things, the answer to that is, Jesus tells His disciples, and He's publicly telling them this, that in order to follow Him, you must deny yourself and your selfishness, which is the opposite of what Peter's doing. When He's saying He's savoring the things of the world, He is not giving up His selfishness, He's being selfish. These are the things that I like, this is what I know, this is what I'm savoring, this is what I like, and Jesus says, you're wrong about this. You are wrong. Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Verse, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Anybody know what book of the Bible that's in? 1 Peter. So, Peter felt the paw of the lion. Peter has made mistakes. But, we saw earlier, He knows the right answer. He says, Lord, where, where, where can I go? Where will I go? Where, to whom can I go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Where can I go? He knows the answer. He has some refining. He feels the Paul of that line. Now, point three, move along here. This is the last one I'll have you turn to of your own free will. John 21. So in John 21, so we have seen Peter had the knowledge and he had refined. Peter felt the paw of the lion. Peter's made mistakes. Peter has had shortfalls. In John 21, It actually says in this chapter it is the third time that Jesus is showing himself after his resurrection. So there's your Easter message for today. Praise the Lord, he has arisen. This is the third time. So, if you think about how all this has happened, so Jesus has appeared twice, the disciples are together, and this is the passage where Peter says, I go fishing. I heard someone recently say there's a lot of meaning in that phrase. But I think there's a lot wrapped up into that. If you think about where these people are, what they've witnessed, what they've gone through, the horrible death of Jesus, and they're trying to grieve that, and then Jesus comes back. You think, how? I saw this happen. I have counseled a few soldiers with PTSD. And one of the things about PTSD is like the flashbacks. And it's not that they're like having a dream vision of it. It's that they have the feelings over and over and over. They have anxiety. They have all these feelings. It's the feelings of the moment that they were in that they can't get away from. And I mean, this is scientific, but like neurologically in your brain, we were not meant to see those kinds of things. like warfare and killing and violence and even people that aren't soldiers have PTSD from different traumas in their life. But the reason they have flashbacks is your brain is literally trying to make sense of something that it can't. So it replays it and it replays it and it replays it over and over and over because your brain is trying to make sense of something it was not meant to do, it was not meant to see, it was not intended for that. And so I believe here when Peter says they go fishing, anybody that's outdoorsman, there's nothing more peaceful than getting out into nature. Even taking a walk. You don't have to hunt or fish, but just taking a walk in nature. So Peter's going back to what he knows, back to what he's comfortable with, but also something that's peaceful to him. And in the passage, they're in the boat, and they see Jesus on the shore. And he says, children, have you caught any fish? And they realize that it's Jesus. And Peter jumps out of the boat. He jumps out of the boat. And I think that shows Peter's desperation for Jesus. Like, yes, he went to fishing. Yeah, he's going back to what he knows. But he also realizes, back to John 6, where can I go? Where else can I go? There's nowhere else. He's had his shortfalls. He's had his failures. He's trying to make sense of everything that he's gone through. He sees Jesus, and he says, I have to get back. I have to get back. Look here in verse 12. So Jesus is on the shore, they're coming back to him. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. None of the disciples darest ask him, Who art thou, knowing that it was the Lord? Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, Lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again, A second time, Simon, son of Jonas, Lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep. So three times Peter died, three times Jesus asked him this question. There's a fancy theological term for this that I could not remember, and I guess this is the Lord telling me it's not that important. So, there are three, it is a parallel here. There's a parallel. The Lord did this on purpose. Verse 18. Verily I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said unto him, Follow me. So he tells Peter, you know, your time is finite. One day you will not be able to do the things that you can do. One day you will be old and people are going to have to carry you around. That's what he's telling him. He's not being mean to him, but he's saying, your time is limited. And then Jesus says, follow me. So what does He mean with that? This is what I believe. It's not here in Scripture, but we can see it from what we have read. We can draw this conclusion. When Jesus says, follow me, He's saying, Peter, all of that that you experienced, all your forgiveness, and also your guilt and shame and regret, use it. It's been for a purpose. One of the hopes of the gospel is once Christ is in your life, every ounce of suffering from that point forward is not purposeless. God is doing something in you. God can develop you. He can help you through it, and then you can help other people. He will be on your side. He will push you through it. So Jesus is telling Peter, you love me? Follow me. Take your experiences, wrap them up, and use them for God's glory. Jesus tells to Peter, follow me. Peter, you have known shame, guilt, regret, fear, but you've also known love, mercy, and forgiveness. Now take what you have learned and use it for the glory of God. So we've seen Peter, number one, Peter had the knowledge, needed to find. He said, Lord, where can I go? Second thing, we see the denial. We see his shortfalls, his sinful tendencies. He shoots off his mouth. He doesn't think before he acts, whatever. I told the teenagers this morning, our Sunday school lesson was on forgiveness. And there have been times, I blame the army, but it's like my, sometimes my sense of humor is pointed. Because we're very harsh with each other at times. It's like self-deprecating humor. It's like we're hard on each other. It's just the way we treat each other. And sometimes I've had to apologize to people because I make a joke, and they don't take it the right way. And I'm like, I'm sorry, I have to back off a little bit. I didn't mean it that way. I meant for it to be a joke. Sorry, it's not that funny. So. All these things, Peter needed refined. He needed to be refined. He made some mistakes, yes. But number three, Peter is called to use his knowledge. Jesus tells him, follow me. Follow me. And the fourth point here, this is the last one, Peter's legacy. You don't have to turn here if you want to know. I had you turn all over the place. But 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3 is a very special chapter in the Bible. And I've referenced this before, kind of jokingly. But I preached a message once just on 2 Peter chapter 3. And I made the conclusion that there's an answer in this passage that is nowhere else in the Bible. And then I was kind of unsure about it. And then I heard Scott Pauly say the same thing. And I was like, well, I guess I was right, because Scott Pauly said it. So the question here, I want to read a few verses. The question here is going to be one of the biggest questions that a skeptic will ever ask you. And it's this. I'm going to sum it up, but then I'll read it. If someone comes to you and says, If your God can fix all these problems that have been since Adam and Eve sinned. You're saying the problems in the world started when Adam and Eve sinned. And God has an answer for that. Why hasn't He come back and fixed it? Why hasn't He done it? So that's the question that's posed. We'll read the answer to the question. I'm going to read 15 verses, but I'll read quickly. 2 Peter 3. The second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you in both, which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. They're saying, I'm calling you to remember what you know, your pure minds. That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers. walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Evil still exists, and it has since the beginning of creation. Where is the promise? Verse 5. For this they willingly are ignorant. of that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. Whereby the world that when was being overflowed with water perished. That's obviously the flood. Verse 7, but the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. And here's the answers. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. So our time is not the same as the Lord's, verse nine. Here's the answer. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So the reason that God hasn't come back and fixed all of the problems is that he's being longsuffering. Because the moment he comes back, there's no more room for mercy. And I've heard, you know, can people get saved in the rapture, can they not? We're reading a, one of our Sunday School Lessons recently was about, it was talking about the nation of Israel. And it talked about, like, the fullness of the Gentiles. Now, careful how I say this. The fullness of the Gentiles is that when the bride of Christ is complete, that is the church, Jesus will return. That means all Christians are gone. So there's no one left spreading the gospel. So Peter here is telling them, God is on suffering to keep the Christians here, to tell you about Christ and give you a chance to get saved. That's what he's telling them. The answer to your question, you coming as a skeptic and saying, why hasn't your God done this? Say, because he loves you. because He wants everyone to get saved that is willing to get saved. He wants everyone to get saved that has a chance. Everyone that hears, He wants them to get saved. And then he says, verse 10, So verse 11, he's saying, because of all these things that are happening, how should you then live? How should you then live, Christians? What manner of persons ought ye to be in all conversation and godliness? Verse 12, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. Verse 15, an account that longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. Even as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you. There are not a lot of people in the Bible that saw the end times. There's only a handful, there's only a few. Obviously John, Revelation. Paul saw some of it, and Peter. Peter has the one answer to one of the greatest questions that's in the Bible. Peter, the denier. Peter, the scoffer. Peter, the normal guy. He's a normal guy. The teens always joke because I talk about King David just about every time I talk about anything because he's one of my favorite people in the Bible. But Peter is quickly becoming one of my favorite people as well because, you know, we act like him a lot. So why is Peter given this specific answer and no one else? Well, again, there's no answer here, but I think we can make inferences from what we have looked at. Who else would better understand the mercy of Jesus? Who would better understand our need for forgiveness and that long-suffering attitude of God? And Peter, who continually was learning, continually was learning the hard way, but making mistakes. Peter. So this last point is just Peter's legacy. And we see that it is good. So Peter learned from his lessons. Peter didn't just experience these things, but I think he took it to heart when Jesus said, follow me, Peter. Take what you have learned and don't go backwards. And Peter, when he's writing here to the church in chapter 3, he tells them, I'm calling your minds to remembrance. Do not forget this. Live in light of these facts. We know that there is a better time coming. We know that the Lord has promised to come back and set things right. But until then, we get the gospel out and give people the chance to have mercy. So, you say, oh, this is good. What does this directly apply to us? We look at this, we think, yes, Peter learned all these things. It is good. There's a really quick conclusion application. And no offense to Peter. I think he's great. No offense to Peter. This is not an example of Peter's greatness. It's not. This shows the redemptive power of God's forgiveness. And the fact that as long as you are seeking God and trying to overcome sin, God will not leave you. He will not leave you. I heard something recently, I've already told the teenagers like four times, it just keeps bouncing around in my head. When Peter looked, Jesus was far from him. But he locked eyes with him. If you ever find yourself away from God, and you look up and you think, how is he all the way over there? God never left you. God never creates distance from you. We do. When, like Peter, we savor the wrong things. when we put emphasis on the wrong things, when we like the wrong things, when we choose to willfully sin. No one ever forces us to do that. We do a good job of it on our own. And so if you ever look up and you realize, God is distant from me, just know that He never put that distance there. We did. He will use you if you stay humble and seek Him above all else. Peter said, where else can I go? Where can I go? He jumps out of the boat, desperate to get over to where the Lord is. Seek Him above all else. Even through failure, Peter is forgiven and Peter is used. God will show the same faithfulness to you and to me if we keep our perspective as we should. and we seek Him desperately. That is the conclusion. I'll pray and turn back over to Pastor Mark. Dear Lord, we thank you for this day, God. Thank you for the opportunity to preach, God, and just pray, Lord, that we look at Peter's example. God, we see ourselves, and Lord, we see your love and mercy for us. God, I ask that we all live in light of these facts. In your name we pray, amen. Thank you, Ron. 174. 174. Search me, oh God. Know my heart today. Cleanse me. Let's stand together, please. you