Well, good morning. It is my pleasure to be here. I bring you greetings from the saints of Berean Baptist Church in Hiram, Georgia. It's a pleasure to worship with you this morning. It feels, quite frankly, like we're at home this week. And I'm excited to be able to preach the word of God to you this morning. So if you will, please turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. With the Lord's help, we'll be considering verses 31 through 34 this morning. And I want to speak to you this morning about the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly about his work as mediator, as intercessor, as the praying Savior, the one who ever lives to make intercession for his people. And to illustrate the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we're going to be using a very familiar text. A passage in which the personification of evil, Satan himself, asks the Lord that his disciples, and Peter specifically, be handed over to him that he might sift them as wheat, shaking, as it were, their faith right out of them and destroying it. And what a frightful thought that is for us, the accuser of the brethren, the enemy of our souls, Beelzebul, the god of this world, asking the Lord that he might have you. to sift you as wheat. And this thought should cause even the most resolute among us to take pause, but contrasted against this horrible request from the devil is a most comforting truth for Peter and indeed for all of God's people. As Christ says to Peter, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. the praying Savior interceding on behalf of his own to preserve their faith. This should be a truth that comforts every true believer. And what makes this truth so comforting is the fact that we can be sure that his prayers will be answered. Pleading the merits of his own blood and of his own righteousness, the sufficiency of his life and death, the Lord Jesus Christ prays that our faith may not fail. Yes, we, like Peter, we will fall. But if we are in Christ, we will not be cast headlong. Christ's prayers will preserve you. Your faith will not fail. Christ's prayers, they're going to ensure your repentance. And as we'll see from the text, they're even going to ensure your future usefulness for the kingdom of God. And despite the best efforts of the prince of darkness, his fiery darts will not destroy you. And in the final analysis, those fiery darts will actually be seen as the very instruments used of God to make you more like his son. So for those of us who are in Christ today, I pray that we would contemplate more often and with more thankfulness the intercessory work of our Lord, the effectual prayers of Jesus Christ for us, that we would see our praying Savior and that we would be moved both in our affections for him, but also in our actions that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil for Christ is with us. He's praying for us that our faith may not fail. And for those who are outside of Christ this morning, my prayer is that God would open your eyes to see the dreadful reality of being without a great high priest, of being without an advocate in heaven. Not only are you unprotected from the schemes and the devices of Satan in this life, but even more concerning, the wrath of a holy and a just God abides on you right now, even in this place. So may God be pleased to give you ears to hear from him as we open up his word. So please think on these things as we read our text. Before we begin, let me pray and ask for God's help and blessing. Father, we come to you this morning and we ask that through the merits of Christ, you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us. upon me as I preach, upon your people as they hear, and Lord, upon those who are not yet in Christ, that they might be given ears to hear, that they may turn and be healed. And we pray that all of this would be to your glory, in Jesus' name, amen. We'll read with me one more time, Luke chapter 22, verses 31 through 34. Hear the word of God. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I've prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you've turned again, strengthen your brothers. Peter said to him, Lord, I'm ready to go with you both to prison and to death. And Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me. Amen. Well, it's worth noting the immediate context of this dialogue between Peter and the Lord Jesus. And to understand this as fully as we can, we need to compare Luke's account of the Last Supper with the other gospel writers. And the setting, of course, is the upper room on the eve of Christ's suffering and death. And the disciples, having been instructed by Jesus to make ready the room for the Passover, had gathered together to celebrate with him. And as was seemingly customary with the disciples, they began to argue with one another. Verse 24, a dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. So imagine the 12, those closest to the Lord, those who were most privileged to hear his intimate counsel and instruction, entering into the upper room to eat the Passover meal with Jesus, They look around at the table and the seating arrangements and they immediately start to argue, who's going to sit closest to Jesus? Who's going to sit at the places of honor at the table? And this is so very typical of what we see from the disciples. Well, Jesus then steps in and he corrects their fleshly ambitions in verse 26 by saying, let the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as one who serves. Then, as if to model this attitude of service for the disciples, we read in chapter 13 of John's gospel, how Christ takes off his outer garments, how he puts a towel around his waist and proceeds to wash their feet. And he says to them, for I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master. Well, the meal commences and Jesus, confessing his being troubled in his spirit, he informs the disciples that one of them eating at the table is a traitor. One of the 12 is going to betray him. And it's at this revelation that yet another argument breaks out amongst the disciples, verse 23. And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this. Well, finally, John privately asks Jesus who was going to betray him. Jesus replies to John in chapter 13, verse 26, by saying, it is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it. And of course we know that Judas Iscariot received the bread from the Lord Jesus. And John's gospel tells us that it's at this moment, Satan entered into Judas and he went out into the night. Well, finally, Jesus takes the bread. He takes the cup. and he blesses them and he institutes the Lord's Supper for his church. And so it is this chain of events that leads us to this point in the narrative, to this dialogue between Peter and the Lord Jesus. And my intention is to preach this text to you under three different headings. The first heading is the Lord's warning, the second heading is the Lord's prayer, and thirdly, the Lord's prophecy. In verse 31, we see the Lord issue a warning to the disciples. Satan has desired to sift them like wheat. In verse 32, we see Christ reassure Peter that he has prayed for him, that his faith may not fail as the result of this looming trial. And in verses 33 and 34, we see Peter's dismissive response to our Lord's warning and Jesus's subsequent prophecy, the foretelling of Peter's denial. So again, our three headings, the Lord's warning, the Lord's prayer, and the Lord's prophecy. Starting first with the Lord's warning. Again, we read in verse 31, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. Well, with Satan having already entered into Judas Iscariot, putting it into his heart to betray the Lord, Jesus now sees fit to issue a warning to the disciples. Satan is not going to be satisfied with Judas only. His lust for the destruction of souls is unmeasurable. But Jesus issues this group warning through their leader, the de facto head disciple, Simon Peter. And as if to grab Peter's full attention, Jesus not only calls his name twice, he uses his pre-Christian name. Simon, Simon, behold. Pay attention, Peter. This is important. Listen up. Peter is about to receive a prophetic warning from his teacher. And although it is certainly not going to tickle his ears, it is truly an act of love on the part of Jesus. And already we see an application sitting on the surface of the text for us. If a brother or sister in Christ loves you enough to pull you aside and admonish you or warn you of some sin or neglect of duty that they've observed in your life, be thankful for that person. That's an act of love by someone. Be thankful that the Lord himself loves you enough and he cares for you enough to put people in your life who will warn you and encourage you to remain on the narrow path. And we would all do well to remember that the wounds of a friend are faithful. So here is Christ, the disciple's greatest friend, wounding him, as it were, loving his own by issuing a clear warning to them. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you." Now the you here in verse 31, it is plural. It's as if Jesus had said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you all. Or as we sometimes say in Georgia, Satan has demanded to have y'all. that he might sift you all like wheat. Satan wants all of the disciples, and friends, not much has changed in the past 2,000 years. He has made a request of God to deliver the disciples into his hand that he might assault their faith, and if it's possible, destroy it. And what is perhaps most disturbing to me about this request of Satan is the timing of it, the timing of it. The disciples were in the presence of the Lord. They had just experienced the most intimate fellowship with him, having the Lord wash their feet, having partaken of the bread and the cup with him. Yet Satan was there. He was spying them out. Perhaps he was using the strife that broke out amongst them as to which of them was the greatest as a foothold for the evil work that he had planned. But regardless, he was there in the upper room with them. And we're reminded that when the Holy Spirit is at work, unholy spirits are never far behind. And friends, we must remember this. We must not think that because we've heard a sermon that stirred our affections, or because we've been to a moving prayer meeting, or because we've partaken of the elements ourselves, that we are somehow insulated, that we are somehow protected from Satan's attacks. On the contrary, it's often at the height of spiritual experience where the greatest attacks come. So let us beware of this lest we make ourselves easy prey for the evil one. So Satan was there in the upper room and he had demanded to have them. Now the word demanded here means the asking that someone be given up to someone else from the power of another. Again, it means the asking that someone be given up to someone else from the power of another. Now specific to our text, demanded is the asking that the apostles be given up to Satan from the power of Christ. And I believe the NASB translation renders this verse correctly when it says, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission, demanded permission to sift you like wheat. And as a mere creature, Satan has no claim on any follower of Christ. He must receive permission from the Lord in order to get at us. And we see this reality play out in the Old Testament, namely in the book of Job, where Satan has to receive permission from God to so much as touch Job. And God puts clear boundaries and limitations on what Satan is allowed to do. Initially, he may assault Job's property and family, but not his person. Later, we see that God does allow Satan to attack Job's body, but he must spare his life. But each time, Satan can only operate within the boundaries set by God. God says to Satan, this far, but no further. These are your limits. And friends, we must remember this, lest we fall into despair or unnecessary fear on behalf of the evil one. Satan is a powerful enemy to be sure, but he is governed by the great sovereign of the universe. This means that God is not unaware of the trials and the temptations that we face at the hands of the devil. His decree, remember, it orders all things. His providence governs all things. So we should take comfort that whatever befalls us, even the trials and temptations of Satan, nothing befalls us by chance. Everything comes to us from the hand of our good, wise, just, and gracious God. And he always does what is right. So we see that Satan has asked God for permission to have the disciples that he might sift them like wheat. Now, this picture of sifting perfectly captures how Satan assaults God's people. Remember, in biblical times, once wheat was harvested and the chaff was separated, farmers would use a sieve to shake the grain and separate it from any rocks or clumps of soil that remained attached to it during the threshing process. And the sieve was a pan that had a mesh bottom. And as the grain was shaken, the impurities, they would fall through the mesh, leaving only the grain on top. And this is what Satan is desiring to do to the disciples. He wants to shake them. He wants to separate their faith from them and show them to be frauds, just as he showed Judas to be a fraud. And friends, his attacks have the same end still today. Satan will settle for nothing less than your total apostasy. than my total apostasy. He wants to have you all, but he also wants to have all of you. For Satan, this is not a joke. He is playing for keeps. Now, again, to be sure, his power is limited. He is not God. He is not omniscient. Satan is not omnipresent, he's not omnipotent, but what he lacks in divine qualities he makes up for with thousands of years of human observational studies and legions of angels at his disposal. He knows the weaknesses and the tendencies of fallen humanity, and he's cunning. He knows how to tempt us and how to attack us where we are most vulnerable. But despite the request being made for all the disciples in this passage, we do get the sense that having already destroyed Judas, Satan has his sights set on a more valuable prize. He wants the one who made the great confession. He wants the one to whom the man received the name Rock from our Lord. He wants the preacher who would be used of God to bring 3,000 souls into the kingdom on the day of Pentecost. He wants Peter. And we can learn from this that Satan allocates special attention to leaders in Christ's church. Satan will not stand idly by as the gospel goes forth into the world. He'll not stand idly by as new disciples are made, baptized, and taught to obey all that the Lord commands. Elders and deacons in the church should expect opposition and intense warfare. And Satan knows that if he can cause a leader in Christ's church to fall, then sheep, well, they're more likely to be scattered. So saints, I would encourage you, support your pastor. Bring him and his family regularly before the throne of grace. Ask that the Lord would give him strength of spirit and clarity of mind to proclaim God's word boldly as he ought to speak. Remember the words of Christ after he washed the feet of the disciples, when he said, a servant is not greater than his master. And if Satan demanded to have Christ, to sift him like weed after 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, when he had had no food, when he was at the peak of physical weakness, we shouldn't expect the enemy to treat our pastors with any more civility. And indeed, we shouldn't expect him to treat any of us with any more civility. And we must not presume, as Peter does in our passage that we are not in danger of falling at the hands of the enemy. Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed, lest he fall. So, we've seen under the first heading, the Lord's warning. But take heart, what comes next is a very comforting truth for all of us who are in Christ. We see next the Lord's prayer, verse 32. but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you've turned again, strengthen your brothers." Well, I'd like to make four observations about this prayer. First, the prayer is offered by Jesus. Secondly, the prayer is for Peter specifically. Third, the prayer regards Peter's faith. And fourth, the prayer is effectual. So our first observation, the prayer is offered by Jesus. Jesus says, but I have prayed for you, Simon. And here we see Christ to the rescue, our great high priest, our mediator, taking action to defend his own, to rescue Peter from a situation so perilous and so dangerous that the only way he was going to survive was by the prayers of his master. Christ places a counterclaim on Peter, as it were. Satan has demanded you, yes, but I, Peter, I have prayed for you. Christ says, but I. And we cannot help but read this and be reminded of those precious but God statements that we see in scripture. For example, Noah in the ark for 150 days, he's seen the destruction of all flesh in the flood. and perhaps wondering what is going to become of him and his family. Genesis 8.1 says, But God. But God remembered Noah. Or David, hiding in the wilderness from Saul, who was seeking to kill him. We read in 1 Samuel, And Saul sought him every day. But God. But God did not give him into his hand. Or Acts 10. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. But God, but God raised him on the third day. And one more example, if you have your Bibles again, turn with me please to Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians chapter two. Here we see perhaps the most familiar and the most comforting but God statement in all of scripture. Ephesians chapter 2, starting in verse 1. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. That is pretty grim, friends. That is not a pretty picture. But we can give thanks, the text goes on. But God, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. God doing only what he can do and stepping in to rescue his people. And we see that so clearly illustrated in our text. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I, but I, Simon, the eternal son, the one who was in the beginning with God, the one who speaks in the winds and the waves, they respond in obedience. But I, the Lord Jesus Christ, Simon, I have prayed for you. All the powers of hell are no match for the prayers of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I, I have prayed for you. So dear saints, please hear these precious words of comfort and have your fears relieved. Such care, such concern, such tenderness. This is our great high priest. This is the one who prays for us. So what a privilege it is to be secure in Christ. Well, this brings us to our second observation about the prayer, and that is, it is for Peter specifically. Consider the nature of the pronouns used in this verse. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. Well, contrary to both uses of the word you in verse 31, all four uses of this pronoun in verses, excuse me, in verse 32, they're all singular. This means that Christ is telling Peter, Satan has asked for all of you, but I've prayed for you specifically, Peter, that your faith may not fail. And this, of course, is not to say that the Lord neglected to pray for the other disciples. We're going to see shortly after this in the larger narrative of the gospels that he does just that in the high priestly prayer. But we should learn from this text that Christ prays for each individual believer specifically. And not only does he pray for each individual specifically, he prays for them according to their specific needs. Case in point, Peter's greatest need in his forthcoming trial in this eminent sifting that is before him is that his faith fail not. And Christ knows this and he prays specifically for this need. And friends, if you are in Christ, he is praying for you in this same way. He is praying specifically for you. And indeed, if I can say this reverently, Christ's prayers for you, they're even more robust, more comprehensive than this prayer was for Peter. Consider for a moment the context of Christ praying for Peter in our passage. Jesus, he knows what lies before him. He had already set his face like flint towards Jerusalem. And even now, Calvary and the cross, they're looming ahead of him. In just a short time, Jesus is going to be in Gethsemane, where the text tells us that he is greatly distressed and troubled. There, he would ask the inner circle of apostles to watch and pray with him, confessing to them, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. And it's in Gethsemane, perhaps more than anywhere else, where we see our Lord's humanity on full display. He was distressed. He was troubled. His soul was very sorrowful. As Isaiah prophesied about him, Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And yet, despite all of that, he still had the wherewithal to pray for his friend. Despite everything that lays before him, all of the pressure that he's feeling, he took time to pray for Peter, to ask the father to preserve his faith. And he did all of this as a man while experiencing the infirmities sin accepted that are common to humanity. So considering this, how much more is Christ able to pray for his people now in heaven? Now that he is no longer beset by the infirmities that are common to a human nature. Now that he no longer grows tired or weary. Now that he is no longer distressed or troubled, now that his soul is no longer sorrowful. So friends, we can have confidence in our ascended and exalted praying Savior. We can have confidence in the one who was appointed by God the Father as a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. His priesthood is without end. Now this not only means that it will last forever, it also means there are no interruptions to the priestly work that he has to do. So when Paul commands us to pray without ceasing, obviously we know there are human limitations to that. But Saints, Christ truly prays without ceasing. There are no interruptions to his priestly work. So I would encourage you, do not withhold anything from him. The small things, the big things, the secret things, you can give all of those to Christ in prayer. We can cast our cares upon him because he cares for us and because he is able to bear our burdens. Remember that exalted in heaven, Jesus ever lives to make intercession for his people. So, I know we've got at least one young mom here, a couple of young moms here. When you don't think you can make it through to bedtime, when you're so exhausted and you can't go another minute, Jesus is praying for you. When you don't know where your next paycheck is going to come from, Jesus is praying for you. When you can't sleep at night because you are so concerned for the souls of your unbelieving children, Jesus is praying for you. When anxiety creeps in because of wars and rumors of wars, Jesus is praying for you. When you're lonely, Jesus is praying for you. When you've yielded again to that shameful, besetting sin, yes, even then, Jesus is praying for you. When a loved one has died, Jesus is praying for you. when your name is being slandered in the world, Jesus is praying for you. He is praying that your faith may not fail. And it is so easy for us to forget about the humanity of Jesus, but your great high priest, he knows what it feels like to be uncertain of the future. He knows what it feels like to want. He knows what it feels like to suffer loss. He knows what it feels like to grow tired, to be exhausted, to be abandoned by his closest friends. And it's with that common understanding and sympathy that he prays for you. He knows your heart. He knows your fears. He knows your desires. And you can trust him because he is completely trustworthy and no one who believes in him will be put to shame. So to every believer here, let me ask you a question. How often do you think of Christ praying for you? How often do you think of that? And I'm not asking how much time you spend praying to him. I'm asking how much time do you spend contemplating the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus? How much time do you spend reflecting on the fact that you have an advocate in heaven, a mediator at God's right hand, whoever lives to make intercession for you. That should take our breath away. The ascended Christ glorified in heaven, uttering your name, uttering my name before his father, expressing our cares to him 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Praying for God's people, it is the unique pleasure of Jesus. He always lives to make intercession for those who draw near to God through him. So may God grant us grace to contemplate the reality of Christ's unending intercession more often and to take more comfort from it. Well, our third observation regarding the Lord's Prayer is specific to the content that is for Peter's faith. the prayers for Peter's faith. Jesus did not pray that Peter would be spared all hardship, that he would not be sifted by the enemy. Instead, Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would not fail. He prayed for the preservation of Peter's faith. Faith is that special grace by which Peter and every other believer is united to the Lord Jesus Christ. He prayed that his faith would not be broken. Despite the looming assault on Peter, where his faith would be temporarily weakened, leading him to deny the Lord, his faith, despite all of this, it would not be utterly destroyed. He would not be severed from Christ because Christ had prayed that his faith may not fail. And brothers and sisters, not only are we saved by grace through faith, we are united to Christ by faith. We live by faith. The Bible says without faith, it's impossible to please God. In fact, saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the principal need for every human being alive. Without it, nothing else in life matters. All of life is vanity without faith in the Lord Jesus. And it is for this reason that Jesus prays specifically for the preservation of Peter's faith. Again, he doesn't pray that Peter would not be sifted. In fact, the sifting of Peter was the exact means the Lord was going to use to answer this prayer, to strengthen and grow Peter's faith. And friends, there is an important lesson for us. Peter needed to be sifted. He needed to have his pride, his self-righteousness, his arrogance, his short-sightedness, his quick temper. He needed to have all of these things fall through the sieve, as it were, leaving a more pure faith, a stronger faith in its place. And we can look at this sifting of Peter and say, truly, what Satan intended for evil, God intended for good. And what we have here is unwittingly the accuser of the brethren is being used as an instrument of grace by the great physician of souls. And friends, the Lord uses trials, and yes, he uses the accusations and temptations of Satan in our lives in a similar way, to strengthen and refine our faith, removing the impurities that exist until each one of us grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Jesus Christ. And the wonderful hymn, How Firm a Foundation, expresses this perfectly. When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace all sufficient shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. Whether trials or tests of faith from God or the accusations or temptations of Satan, all are divine medicines, as it were, administered to God's people by Him, all with the intention of their sanctification and their preservation. And I know that this refining process is hard, perhaps impossible to see as it is happening. feels like a whirlwind when we are in the midst of a trial, when we are in the midst of a storm. And it becomes difficult, sometimes even impossible, seemingly, to keep our eyes fixed on Christ, to live by faith, as it were. And perhaps you've been in a trial where you begin to question whether you even have any faith at all. And if this is you, let me encourage you. Christ has purchased his people with his own blood. He will not lose the inheritance for which he died. He is interceding right now in heaven, asking the Father that your faith may not fail. And with his sinless life and sacrificial death, friends, Jesus has earned the right for his prayers to be answered. The faith of his people will not fail. as our confession so wonderfully says, though many storms and floods arise and beat against the believer, yet those storms and floods shall never be able to take the believer off that foundation and rock which by faith they're fastened upon. We are united to Christ by faith. So Christians, take heart. Christ has prayed for you that your faith may not fail. Well, this leads us to our fourth and final observation regarding this prayer, and that is it is effectual. The prayer is effectual. We see that truth emphasized in the latter half of verse 32. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Jesus says to Peter, when you turn, not if you turn, The word turn here means to repent, to turn back to Christ. And Jesus, of course, is foreshadowing Peter's sin of denial that he's going to make explicit in a few verses. Essentially, he's saying to Peter, when you've repented of denying me, when you've once again turned and embraced me as your master, strengthen your brothers. Now, there is no doubt in Jesus' mind that Peter will repent. It is not a matter of if, but of when. Christ's prayers, again, are effectual. They accomplish what he intends, namely the perseverance and ultimate salvation of his people. And there's no question as to Peter's repentance. Yes, Peter will fall. He will sin in a great and grievous way. There's no excuse for Peter's sin of denial, but he will not be cast headlong. He will be renewed unto repentance by the uplifting power of his Savior's effectual prayers. As Peter himself will later write in his first epistle, believers are being guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. We are being guarded through all of life's trials and temptations against every attack of the evil one. We are being guarded by God's power through faith. And one of the principal means of this divine guarding that works through faith is the prayers that the Lord Jesus Christ offers on behalf of his people. And I have a question for us. Will the father not give to his beloved son anything for which he asks? He will. Certainly he will. Psalm 2 verse 8 records the father promising the son, ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth, your possession. Dear believer, you are Christ's heritage. You are his possession. He is praying effectually for you in heaven. that when you go through trials and temptations, your faith may not fail, that when you sin, you will turn again to Him in repentance and faith. Now, we know this is true because the scriptures tell us it is true, but let's examine our own lives for a piece of secondary evidence of this. Simply consider for a moment the multitude of sin in your life. I'm trying not to meddle here, okay? But think about that, the multitude of sin in your life, not pre-conversion, I want you to think about post coming to Christ, already having been regenerated, repented of sin and trusted in Christ. Think about the sin that still remains in your life. How is it that your faith has not failed completely and utterly? Think for a moment of the lowest, the most depressed, the most shameful moments that you have had as a Christian. The moments that your best friend knows nothing about. How is it that you have not become a statistic and abandoned the faith entirely? How is it that the world, your flesh, the devil, have not completely overtaken you? And the answer is because you have a friend in heaven. You have a friend in heaven at the right hand of God who ever lives to make intercession for you. By the imputation of his blood and righteousness, you're justified. You're declared righteous before God. And by his effectual prayers, you are preserved. You, me, and every other true believer anywhere in this world are being upheld by the sustaining and effectual prayers of the Lord Jesus Christ. So friends, when you sin, do not wallow in self-pity. Self-pity is so often an inferior substitute for true repentance. Instead, humbly confess your sin, plead the merits of Christ, and turn again to Him to walk in new obedience, knowing that Christ is praying for you, that your faith may not fail. So we've seen thus far the Lord's warning and the Lord's prayer. Let's look lastly and quickly at the Lord's prophecy. Verses 33 and 34. Peter said to him, Lord, I'm ready to go with you both to prison and to death. Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you deny three times that you know me. Well, in typical Peter fashion, the apostle quickly dismisses the Lord's warning. Hey, thanks for that, Jesus. I appreciate the prayers. But remember, it's me, it's Peter. Remember who you're talking to. I mean, yeah, these guys over here, I mean, they're probably going to abandon you, but remember, it's the rock. It's Peter. You got to remember who you're talking to, Jesus. Well, friends, Jesus knew exactly who he was talking to. In fact, he knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. And Peter trusted himself more than he trusted Jesus, and his response to the warning shows us that. He had not yet learned that when the Lord speaks, our job is to listen, to believe, and to obey. Now, I am sure that Peter was speaking from the heart in his reply to Jesus. I truly believe that Peter believed what he was saying, but Contrary to what our culture will tell you, contrary to what sometimes we often think ourselves, our heart is not the apex of truth and goodness. Providentially, in our public scripture reading today, we read from Jeremiah, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? We think of our Lord himself giving a warning to Peter in Matthew 15, where he says to Peter, are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth and passes into the stomach is expelled, but what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart? And this is what defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, and might I add, unbelief. Pride. These things are what defile a person. In Peter's words, they betrayed the unbelief and the pride that were hidden in his heart. And notice that Jesus didn't respond to Peter by saying, well, Peter, thanks for that confirmation. I was worried there for a minute, you know, but I knew you got my back. No. Instead, Jesus, once again, lovingly corrects Peter. This is a sober message. I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you deny three times that you know me. Jesus knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. And friends, Jesus knows you and me better than we know ourselves. And I don't say this to scare you, but to encourage you. After all, isn't this one of the reasons why his prayers are so effectual for us? Because he knows exactly what we need, even before we know that we need it. So friends, remember this truth. Again, when a brother or sister warns you of something they see in your life, when a sermon convicts you, when the word of God pierces your conscience, don't cover those warnings with false bravado like Peter did. Instead, pray like the psalmist did. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Our good shepherd, he carries with him a rod and a staff. And we can trust him to lead us in paths of righteousness, to lead us in the way everlasting. Well, before we close, I want us to fast forward just a few hours from this conversation to the time when the Lord's prophecy concerning Peter is fulfilled. So if you will, please look down a few verses here in Luke 22, starting at verse 59. This is the third of Peter's denials that are foretold by Christ. Verse 59. And after an interval of about an hour, still another insisted, saying, certainly this man was also with him, for he too is a Galilean. But Peter said, man, I do not know what you were talking about. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. While he was still speaking, the rooster crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Now, you can be sure that the look our Lord gave Peter was not a look of contempt. He was not silently communicating to Peter, see, I told you so, you ignorant fool. What were you thinking? No. No, his eyes were full of pity, full of grace, full of love for his fallen friend. In Peter's worst moment, Christ's compassion for him is at its greatest. And I fear that we too often wrongly think of Christ praying for us only when we are on our best behavior, that he prays for us as some sort of payment for our obedience, and how wrong it is to think this way, friends. Christ perhaps especially prays for us when we are in the throes of sin, when we are engaged in abominable behavior, when we are feeling, thinking, saying, or doing evil. When we are in the very act of denying Him, as it were, it is there where Christ's prayers ring loudest in heaven for His people, that our faith may not fail, that we will turn to Him again in repentance and faith. And friends, when you fall, Jesus can restore you. Jesus restored Peter. He can restore you. So let me ask you, Saint, do you love Him? Not do you love him perfectly, but do you love him? Not do you need to love him more because certainly we do, but do you love him? If you do, take comfort in his effectual prayers offered for you, that your faith may not fail. Well, lastly, remember the command that Christ issues to Peter in verse 32. And when you've turned again, strengthen your brothers, As part of the foundation of Christ Church, Peter was to model repentance and faith both for his contemporary brothers and sisters and also in God's providence for Christians in all ages. We have his record in the gospels, we have his epistles. Like David before him, having been restored to God in the wake of grievous sin, Peter was now more able to teach transgressors the way of God. He was more able to lead sinners to repentance. And this same duty belongs to every one of God's people. Has grace been shown to you? Have you been upheld by the power of Christ's effectual prayers? Have you been renewed again unto repentance and faith? And if you have, strengthen your brothers. Encourage them to resist temptation. Explain to them from your own experience the wickedness of sin. And above all, speak to them of the grace and mercy to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says to every true believer, I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you've turned, strengthen your brothers. We'll have one final application from the text this morning. For those who are outside of Christ, for those who do not yet have a great high priest interceding for you, I confess much of what I have said today, I have said only to Christians. I'm not ashamed of that. When I speak of the mediatorial work of Jesus, I'm speaking only to Christians. When I speak of the faith-sustaining prayers of Jesus, I'm speaking only to Christians. These promises do not apply to you if you are yet unconverted. But do not think that because these promises did not belong to you now, that they cannot be yours by faith. Shortly after this dialogue between Peter and Jesus, the Lord is going to offer up another prayer. And this is a prayer that we often refer to as the high priestly prayer. The content of this prayer can be found in full in John chapter 17, but I'd like to read a portion of this high priestly prayer to you, starting in verse 17, where Jesus is praying for his disciples that God would sanctify them, that he would keep them and preserve them in the faith. And Jesus prays to his father, sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake, I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth." And hear this, listen closely. If you are outside of Christ, listen to this. Jesus prays, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Jesus is praying that not only will his father sanctify, keep, and preserve his disciples, but that he will also do the same for all those who would believe in Jesus through their word, through their testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. So my unbelieving friend, by grace, I trust that you have heard the word of the Lord this morning, that you have heard a testimony to his saving and preserving power. And I would implore you, do not be like Judas. who heard the word of the Lord, yet hardened his heart against him, because his end was destruction. Instead, turn to Christ in repentance and faith. Receive the Lord Jesus as your praying Savior, the one who cleanses you from sin, the one who clothes you in his own righteousness and sustains your faith by the power of his heavenly prayers. And if you do, Jesus promises that your faith will not fail because he has prayed for you. Let me pray. Lord Jesus, we praise you. We give you praise for humbling yourself, for taking on human flesh, for assuming the common infirmities sin accepted of a human nature, for living amongst a people who despised and rejected you. We praise you for your perfect obedience to the law of God in the stead of your people. We praise you for your perfect sacrificial death, bearing the penalties of the law on behalf of your people. We praise you that on the third day you were raised, that you are exalted and ascended to heaven. and that you ever live to make intercession for your people. And we ask Lord Jesus, please never stop praying for us. We pray in your precious name. Amen. Well, I was taught a long time ago that The way you can tell a good sermon is if you can walk away and not say, well, he was a good speaker, or even that that was a good message, but that you can walk away and say, how great is our Savior. And I believe that God was faithful to give that to us this morning. Thank you, dear brother. I can honestly say that the Lord has met with us this morning, has given us his word, has encouraged us, and has given us our daily bread. In closing, I will just recite to you the blessing that was given in the Old Testament that applies to God's people. May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace. Amen. So I've got my professional training. So we have our meeting this afternoon. So I've got to drive back.