Okay, so it's John chapter 21, verses 15 through 25. And let us hear the word of the Lord. So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon the son of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these? He said unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him, feed my lambs. He said unto him again the second time, Simon the son of Jonah, lovest thou me? He said unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him, feed my sheep. He said unto him the third time, Simon the son of Jonah, lovest thou me? Peter was sorry because he had said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said unto him, feed my sheep. Verily, 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 thine hands, and another shall gird thee and lead thee without thou wouldest not. And this spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, follow me. Then Peter turned about and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, which had also leaned on his breast at supper, and had said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? When Peter therefore saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what shall this man do? Jesus said unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went this word abroad among the brethren that this disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said not to him, he shall not die, but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? This is that disciple which testifieth of these things and wrote these things. We know that his testimony is true. Now there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose the world could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. And that ends the reading of God's Word, and let's pray. Father, be with us now as we look here. We pray you would instruct us, give us wisdom and understanding, and bless us. And we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. Well, last week we explored verses 15 to 17, and Jesus' command for Peter to feed the church, feed my lambs, feed my sheep as it is counted there. And this has been held up to us as the restoration of Peter to the apostleship after his thrice denial of the Lord Jesus at the high priest's palace. And again, the commentators note, look, Peter denied the Lord three times and now three times Jesus asks him, do you love me? Again, I don't find Peter's denial to be worse in principle than the actions of the others who forsook him and fled, Matthew 26.56, after testifying that they were willing to die with him, Matthew 26.35. You remember, Peter said, though all men forsake thee, I will not forsake thee, I am willing to die with thee, and likewise said them all. And so again, all the disciples were involved in saying, no, we're ready to die with you. And all of them forsook him and fled. And so they all were implicated in this. The reality is that they all needed assurance of their continued calling. And so when Jesus gives them the Great Commission, that is verification. Of course, his willingness to meet with them as disciples and still speak with them and so on, you know, all that is indication. But the Great Commission is the commissioning of all these ones that fled. including Peter, to a job that they are called to do as apostles. They all needed commissioning together. They all needed power from on high, which came to them at Pentecost. So my view is a little different than this classic idea of restoring Peter to apostleship. I think Peter's in an existential crisis that's evident from verse 3's, I go a fishing. And the idea is, I think, Peter thinks he's worthless to the cause. I think he feels it more than anyone else does. And he, after all of his zeal, which my construct on Peter is that his zeal wasn't just boasting, that he really thought himself ready for all of these things that he testified to. And so when Peter says, no, I'm ready to die with you, he believed that 100%. He was ready to die with Jesus. And so now in the end of the thing, after having denied Jesus, Peter is the one that feels it more than anyone else. His own uselessness, his worthlessness. the fact that he has denied Jesus. And I think that's the crisis Peter is in, that Jesus is dealing with when he appears on the shore of Gennesaret. You know, Peter jumps in the water to go to him, but that's an expression of his love, but what we're really dealing with, Peter, is are you of any use to me? Are you useful? And the idea in Peter is that though I love Jesus, I am not useful. Though I love Jesus, I am incapable of fidelity to this calling. I ought to go back to fishing and just leave this thing alone. And I think that's what we're dealing with. That's what Jesus is dealing with in Peter. The idea that I can love him, but I can reject this calling and commission that I have from him. Or another way to say this is that we can separate obedience to a commandment from love. Love becomes a feeling and it doesn't involve what it is that you actually do. And Jesus is putting these two things together in the man who is in the existential crisis. He says, Do you love me? Feed my lambs. Do you love me? Feed my sheep. And he's using different words, as we pointed out last week. You know, the one is agape. It's a form, there's a formality to it. And Peter doesn't answer agape. He answers with another Greek word, a phileo, that indicates, has more of a feeling to it, or it tends to separate itself from just what you do. It's, you feel this way. It's a brotherly love. Peter answers that way every time. Twice Jesus says to you, Agape, you love me. And finally, he uses the word phileo in dealing with Peter, because Peter's answered phileo both other times. But at any rate, no matter whether we talk about a formal obedience that is charity, or whether we talk about a brotherly feeling The point is you can't separate what you do from what you feel, the emotion of it from the action of it, and that's what Jesus is putting together in this circumstance. And so Peter, who felt this in a singular way, that we love Jesus, has learned a lesson about man. And that lesson was in John's Gospel in the beginning, John 2 at verse 23. Now when he was at Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast, many believed in his name when they saw his miracles, which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew them all, and had no need that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man." Now that's Jesus making his analysis of his supporters. in the very beginning of his ministry. He didn't commit himself to that. He knew what was in man. For Peter, it's a long way. It's a two-year process to see himself as he is, to know what is in man, and it's very discouraging at this point. So I think when he says, I go fishing, he is contemplating a return to his former vocation out of a sense of uselessness. And Jesus will not allow him to separate love from the obedience to his calling. He focuses Peter on the fact that expressing love for Jesus means obeying him. Peter may not say, I love Jesus dearly, but am no good. Jesus says, Peter, if you love me, you express this love by feeding my sheep. And again, that's Romans 13.10, love is the fulfilling of a law. Love is obedience to the commandment. Feeling and duty cannot be separated, and that is a principle that is to inform Peter in his apostleship. Well now, if Peter's love for Jesus is to be expressed by fidelity to his commandment, what about Jesus' love for Peter? Despite a frequent designation of John as the disciple whom Jesus loved, is there any question that Jesus loved all of his disciples or that Jesus loves his own? Well, you know, there are plenty of declarations of the love of Jesus for Peter. For example, John 3, verses 16 to 18, for God so loved the world that he hath given his only begotten son. that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world that he should condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth in him is not condemned." You see, so that involves Peter. John 15 at verse 13. Greater love than this hath no man, when any man bestow his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth, I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his master doeth. But I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my father have I made known to you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruits, and that your fruit remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask of the father in my name, he may give it you. These things command I you that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." And again, that's Jesus saying, you're my friends. And greater love hath no man than this, and he'd give his life for his friends. Well, specifically towards Peter, we could look at Luke 22 at verse 31. The Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired you to winnow you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. Therefore, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Again, there's Jesus saying, Simon, I've prayed for you specifically. And he, again, conceives of a good issue to his prayer. And so again, Jesus' love for Peter, it's expressed in terms of apostleship. It's expressed in terms of the love of God. It's expressed in terms of specific prayer for Peter. But when we turn to the text at verses 18 to 19, what is prophesied towards Peter is a violent death. Verily, 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 thine hands, and another shall gird thee, and lead thee without thou wouldest not. And this spake he signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, follow me. And so how is that consistent? How is the love of God consistent with a prophesied violent death for Peter? Again, if the historical account is to be believed, each of the apostles died violently, except for John, who nevertheless was exiled. And so history, the church tells us that each of these apostles died a violent death. And John was the only one that he continued and he died in peace, although he had been exiled. And we have, of course, that in the book of Revelation. How then is Jesus' love for Peter and his command to preach consistent with his love for Peter? If Jesus sent him to a task and loves him, ought not we to expect protection and not violent death at the hands of men? Now, for material on that question, we can turn to Acts 12, beginning at verse 1. Now about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church, and he killed James, the brother of John, with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened bread. And when he had caught him and put him in prison and delivered him to four quadrillion of soldiers to be kept, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer was made of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him out unto the people, the same night slept Peter between two soldiers bound with two chains, and the keepers before the door kept the prison. Behold, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and a light shined in the house, and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. Then he said to him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. So Peter came out and followed him, and knew not that it was true, which was done by the angel, but thought he had seen a vision. Now when they passed the first and the second watch, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of its own accord. And they went out and passed through one street, and by and by the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know for a truth that the Lord hath sent his angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the waiting for of the people of the Jews. Now that's an example of And again, it's material on this whole question that we're laying out. In the first place, because of verse one, or verse two, he killed James, a brother of John. Now there's one of the apostles, James and John, Boanerges is what Jesus called them, the sons of thunder. And here, James is slain. That's one of the apostles slain by Herod, who is a wicked tyrant and a murderer. And again, James, and that's the course that James, or the price that James paid, or the martyrdom that James suffered as an apostle. Now at the same time, James is slain here as Peter, and Peter's about to be slain in the same way, only the angel of the Lord delivers him out of prison and delivers him out of Herod's hands. And then the story goes on. eaten of worms and dies, you know. But again, there's a deliverance for Peter when James, a brother of John, is killed by the sword. He's miraculously delivered by an angel. And should we ask the question, well, did God love Peter more than James? Well, if we were gauging it that way, we could say that was the case, but I don't think that is the point. Rather, to ask a question like that misconstrues the relationship between God's love and what happens in history. And so part of the expectation of man who knows God and knows God's love is that God would keep him. Now we have that expressed in the scripture, Psalm 121 and verse 4. Behold, he that keepeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Now that's just saying God is the one who keeps his people. God is the one who keeps Israel. We also have Psalm 91, which we can take in its entirety because it all speaks to this point. Whoso dwelleth in the secret of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say unto the Lord, O my hope and my fortress, he is my God in him will I trust. Surely I will deliver thee from the snare of the hunter and from the noisome pestilence. He will cover thee under his wings, and thou shalt be sure under his feathers. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid of the fear of the night, nor of the arrow that flyeth by day, nor of the pestilence that walketh in the darkness, nor of the plague that destroyeth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come near thee. Doubtless with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. For thou hast said, The Lord is mine hope. Thou hast set the Most High for thy refuge. There shall none evil come unto thee. Neither shall any plague come near thy tabernacle. For he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee in their hands that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the lion and asp, the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under feet. Because he hath loved me, therefore will I deliver him. I will exalt him because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me and I will hear him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and glorify him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." And again, notice, because he hath loved me, therefore I will deliver him. And again, that's common to all of the saints of God. When Jesus, or when the devil tried to apply this specifically to Jesus and said, cast yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple because it's written, he'll give his angels charge over you. Jesus refused that as a construct and said, no, you're not to tempt the Lord your God. It wasn't specifically a messianic psalm. It was true of all of the people of God. Because they love God, God will keep them. God will deliver them. And that is a promise that's evident in the word of God and in the psalms. God is sovereign. God controls all things. And he can keep his own people securely no matter what it is that's going on in the world. Though they are in the midst of battle, God can keep them. You know, there's a letter from George Washington, I think it was written to his brother, describing an engagement he was in in the French and Indian War. And he talks about, you know, I had five bullets through my coat and four horses shot out from under me and how he was unscathed in the battle and it was a special providence of God in keeping him. And so that's in the letter, and then later on in life, it was actually the Indian chief he was in battle with was brought in. He wanted to meet him, and he told him this story. He said, we couldn't hit him. We couldn't hit you. At one point in the battle, I told all my braves, look, don't shoot at anybody else. Shoot at that guy on the horse. They all were shooting at him and they couldn't hit him. And finally, he was so fed up with it, he said, you know, give me, whether he had an arrow or a gun, give it to me, and he himself couldn't hit him. And that's an anecdote of Washington's life, French and Indian war, engagement, nobody can hit him. You know, that's the circumstance. And of course, whether it was Washington then who would command a continental army or common saints of God, the Lord knows and can keep his own people. And that's the teaching of scripture throughout. Now there are qualifications to this as an expectation. And here we can look at Ecclesiastes nine and verse one. I have surely given my heart to all this, and to declare all this, that the just and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. And no man knoweth either love or hatred of all that is before them." Now that's Solomon writing Ecclesiastes, and he's putting commentary on the circumstances of men's lives. And what his teaching is, is that we cannot say God loves me more than someone else, based on, well, what's happened. For instance, we can't say, well, he loves the rich because they're rich, and he hates the poor because they're poor. It's not the circumstances of man's lives by which we can gauge the love of God. No man knoweth either love or hate by all that is before him. So we can't say, well, this happened to me, therefore God hates me. where this happened to me, I know God loves me. You know, as if we can read the providence of God, the circumstances of our lives as indications of love and hate. No, we can't say that. Now, even the wealthy saints then are reminded in 1 Timothy 6 and verse 17, charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded and that they trust not in uncertain riches but in the living God which giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy. Say, so you're rich, don't trust in your riches. Trust in God and recognize Him as the source of it. He gives us all things abundantly to enjoy. So we have things, if we have enough, it's God who has given us these things. So no one can say, if I get sick, it is because God hates me. Okay, again, Psalm 41, verses one to three. Blessed is he that judgeth wisely of the poor. The Lord shall deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will keep him and preserve him alive. He shall be blessed upon earth, and thou will not deliver him under the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of sorrow that has turned all his bed in his sickness. So that's, again, the psalmist saying, the one who blesses the poor, God will keep him in sorrow and in sickness. Well, I mean, if we came up with the construct, well, I wouldn't get sick if God loved me, then the psalmist couldn't say that. And I'm just pointing out to you that when the Psalms, when the scripture itself says God keeps Israel, he keeps them from the wrath plot and destroy another man. No man can assault me and successfully assault me because God keeps me. That's different than God exercising me with difficulties, with sickness, with financial reversals, with death or martyrdom in this case. Okay, so you have to recognize the difference between the two things. We cannot gauge God's love by troubles or temptations. In fact, we are instructed to be patient in them. Now you're Hebrews 12, beginning at verse 4. You have not resisted unto blood striving against sin, and you have forgotten the consolation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son despised not the chastening of the Lord, neither faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son that he receiveth." And again, hear that. He scourges every son he receives. If he loves you, he chastens you. If ye endure chastening, God offereth himself unto you as unto sons. For what son is it whom the father chasteneth not? If therefore ye be without correction, wherefore all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons. Moreover, we have had fathers of our bodies which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Should we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits that we might live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he chastened us for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous, but afterward it bringeth the quiet fruit of righteousness unto them which are thereby exercised." Now again, if you're loved, you're chastened, that is the teaching of scripture. And so again, we are instructed to be patient in this thing. Now when we talk about gospel preaching or the testimony of the saints concerning Christ, there is another class of circumstances that are involved in this. Now it's Matthew 10 verses 16 to 42. Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be, therefore, wise as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils. and will scourge you in their synagogues. And ye shall be brought to the governors and kings for my sake, in witness to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall say. For it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall betray the brother to death. And the father, the son, and the children shall rise against their parents and shall cause them to die. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name. But he that endureth to the end, he shall be saved. And when they persecute you in this city, flee into another. For verily I say unto you, ye shall not go over all the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple to be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household? Fear them not, therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be disclosed, nor hid that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light, and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye on the houses. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Now again, that's Jesus. And again, introducing the disciples to the calling that they have as preachers of the gospel, what their expectation is to be, and what the circumstances of this are. Our Lord sacrificed his life upon earth in order to gain redemption for his elect. And there's a community with or a fellowship in suffering that we experience because of that. And so, for example, Paul uses that term in Philippians 3.10. And here he says that I might know him in the virtue of his resurrection and the fellowship of his afflictions and be made conformable unto his death. So Paul again sees, look, there is, in what Jesus experienced, a fellowship, a commonality, a unity in that. You know, when a guy, you know, like our conference speaker this year can talk of the story of the things that he suffered, you know, at the hands of his bosses and, you know, church men in the seminary, And if you've suffered the same thing, there's a commonality in experience there, you see. And I could say to him, I could say to him, did you ever read Athanasius' Discourses Against the Arians? He said, no. I said, oh, you've got to read them. You'll see your friends all over this, you know. And again, well, why is that? Because our experience at the hands of men is the same. And that can be true of someone in the fourth century. And still, it's all the same things. They act all the same way. They do all the same things. They twist language the same way. They're double-minded in the same way. All of it's the same. Well, that's this communion in experience that comes through fighting a certain battle, and that battle is common to the preachers of the word. It's common with Jesus, and it's a communion that they have with him. And so that's the circumstance. You can see it again, 2 Timothy 3 and verse 12. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So if you're going to live godly, there will be anger, hatred, malice, persecution directed towards you that you will experience. You will suffer it. It will happen to you. Now, verse 19 of our text then. marks this fact that Peter's death was to the glory of God. And so, yes, when you're old, you'll be girded and carried where you don't want to go. And Jesus, by that, was signifying the kind of death Peter would die. So Peter was actually going to be martyred to the glory of God. And now when you think about this, Peter, if you ask him, I'm willing to die with you. I'm willing to die. I'm not going to be offended. I'm willing to die. His predetermination to die with Jesus, he was unable to keep in his own power. But nevertheless, in the power of the Spirit of God, he ultimately joined Jesus in martyrdom. So what he couldn't do in his own power, What he gutted out on when some maid said, oh, you're one of them. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. That was human power. That was human determination that was failing at the fire, at the fireside. What he couldn't do in his own power when he was converted and by the Spirit of God given him at Pentecost, he was able to follow Jesus in. So that was a determination. That was a personal principle that he adopted in expressing his love and commitment to Jesus. And what he couldn't keep in his own power, by the power of the Spirit of God, he was able to keep and did ultimately fulfill that course that was his heart intention, you know, when he said it in the first place. He couldn't keep it in his own power, but he did by the power of the Spirit of God, obtaining what the writer of Hebrews calls a better resurrection. That's Hebrews 11 and verse 35. I can start at 32. And what shall I more say? For the time would be too short for me to tell of Gideon, of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, also of David, and Samuel, and of the prophets, which through faith subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained the promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword. Of weak were made strong, waxed valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. The women received their dead raised to life. Others also were wracked and would not be delivered that they might receive a better resurrection. And others have been tried by mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, by bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were hewn asunder. They were tempted. They were slain with a sword. They wandered up and down in sheepskins and in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented, whom the world was not worthy of. They wandered in wildernesses and mountains and dens and caves of the earth. All these through faith obtained a good report and received not the promise. God providing a better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect. Now again, the teaching here is, look, there's lots of people that this happened to. You know, Saunasander, that was historically, that's Isaiah. They cut him in half with a saw. You saw the magician do it, you know, in the box and separate the legs and, you know. For real, that was Isaiah. You know, and so there were lots of people that suffered death at the hands of the haters of God. whom though God had the power to deliver, yet He did not deliver. Why? Because He loved them more and would give them a greater reward in eternity. And that's the teaching of the Scripture. So, the question we set up ultimately leads to an answer that is a little bit bigger than what we might have otherwise assumed. Peter obtained a better resurrection. Peter obtained his desire in expressing his love for Jesus that he actually followed him to the cross and died a violent death. Now, our application of these things lies first in how we view the world around us. If we're going to apply this, we've got to say, well, what is it we see when we look out there in the world? We have to be reminded that wealth is not necessarily the blessing of God. And we can turn to the scripture and the apostles in that, James 5, verses 1 to 8. Go to now ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupt, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rest of them shall be a witness against you. And ye shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped up treasure for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers which have reaped your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth, and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived in pleasure on earth and in wantonness. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You've condemned that have killed the just, and he has not resisted you. Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husband waited for the precious fruit of the earth and have long patience for it until he receives the former and latter reign. Be also patient, therefore, and settle your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nearer." Now, again, that's James starting out in rebuke of the rich men. It's very clear that riches are not, in their case, the blessing of God. Riches are the cause of them offending the position that they have they're not morally capable of. They use their riches to destroy others and by fraud gain them and increase them and it's the judgment of God coming upon them that the church is waiting for. Again, so, again, the way we view the world, the way we view riches, is really important. And you know, this bears saying in the Christian church. And I'll just tell the story this way. When I heard that Mitt Romney was in the Mormon church, I knew one thing. I knew that he wasn't just someone sitting in the pew. Because churches always put rich men in authority. Always. It never fails. In other words, if a guy is in business, he'll be an elder. If he's got money, he'll be an elder. If he's got this, he'll be an elder. Regardless of whether he is morally capable of applying the Word of God in his calling. So there's not a test to say, well, is this guy any good at applying the Word of God? No. If he's a professing Christian and he has money, he'll be in the eldership of the church. That ought not to be. But that's the way it is. So when I heard he was in the Mormon church, I knew it was not in some small position in the Mormon church. I forget what he was, but that was later confirmed. He was some kind of a bigwig in the Mormon church. Scoundrel of scoundrels, but that I knew to be the case as soon as I heard it. Okay, well that brings us then to James 2, verses 1 to 9. My brethren, have not the faith of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ in respect of persons. For if there come into your company a man with a gold ring and goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say to him, Sit thou here in a goodly place, and say unto the poor, stand thou there or sit here under my footstool, are ye not partial in yourselves and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world that they should be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not the rich oppress you by tyranny? Do they not draw you before the judgment seats? Do they not blaspheme the worthy name after which ye be named? But if ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, which saith, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well. But if ye regard the persons, ye commit sin, and are rebuked of the law as transgressors. And again, that's James laying the whole thing out about the fact that we ought to be blind with respect to the Christian church concerning men's status out there in society, whether they're rich or whether they're poor. They're entitled to the same kind of preaching. They're entitled to be treated as men and respected as men in terms of their profession of faith. There's 1 Timothy 6 verses 17-19. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, and that they trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God, which giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy. That they do good, and be rich in good works, and be ready to distribute and to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may obtain eternal life. So again, it's an aspect of faith how you use your riches, not whether or not you are rich. No man knows either love or hate by all that is before him. The godly will express their godliness in the way they prosecute the position that they're in. If they're rich, they use their riches in a godly way. If they're poor, nevertheless, they trust in God and serve God in that circumstance. If they're well, they work hard and they use their bodies to the service of God. If they're sick, nevertheless, they worship God in truth. And so the point is that faith develops the position, it develops the providence of God that we are given to the glory of God, no matter what that providence is. Wealth is not necessarily the blessing of God. And then also we can say, look, it is the blessing of God to enjoy the labor of our hands. And we ought to recognize that. You know, there's so many people that labor and don't see the enjoying of the produce of their labor, what they actually create. They don't see the enjoying of that as the blessing of God. No, that is the blessing of God. Psalm 128, verses 1-2, "...Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord, and walketh in His ways. When thou eatest the labour of thine hands, thou shalt be blessed, and it shall be well with thee." Now see, the portrayal here is that you get to eat the labour of your hands. You know, when you can sit down to a meal and you're eating the meat you've raised and the eggs your chickens laid and what you grew in the garden and you bring that together for a meal, that's an example of the same thing. But even when it's turned into cash and just purchased, you know, I earned this, I'm eating what I earned, that's the blessing of God. The ability to work and earn is the blessing of God and there's nothing that can substitute for that. Also Ephesians 4 and verse 28, Let him that stole, steal no more, but let him rather labor and work with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give unto him that needeth. You see there is repentance for the thief. work, eat what you've earned, and be able to give to others who are in need. And Ecclesiastes 5, 13 to 20. I guess it's 12 in this Geneva Bible. There is an evil sickness that I have seen under the sun, to which riches reserved to the owners thereof for their evil. And these riches perish by evil travail. And he begetteth a son, and in his hand is nothing. As he came forth from his mother's belly, he shall return naked to go as he came, and shall bear away nothing of his labor, which he hath caused to pass by his hand. This also is an evil sickness, that in all points as he came he shall go. And what profit hath he that he hath travailed for the wind? Also all his days he eateth in darkness with much grief, and in his sorrow and anger. Behold then what I have seen good, that it is comely to eat and to drink, and to take pleasure in all his labor wherein he travaileth under the sun. the whole number of the days of his life which God giveth him, for this is his portion. Also to every man to whom God hath given riches and treasures, and giveth him power to eat thereof, and to take his part and to enjoy his labor, this is the gift of God. Surely he will not much remember the days of his life, because God answereth to the joy of his heart. And again, you can see the situation here. There's one guy that has all this stuff and it's bondage to him. He cannot enjoy it. He has to get it to himself, keep it, you know. And the other guy can eat the things that he has made. He doesn't really much worry about it because his mind and heart are set on other things. They're set on the things of God, on communion with God, in understanding. And so again, it's a blessing. to enjoy the labor of your hands. Not necessarily to be wealthy, that's not necessarily the blessing of God, it can be and it might not be. But to be able to enjoy the labor of your hands and not much worry about it, that is God's blessing. And finally, that opposition of this world, and this is the lesson we can take home as well, opposition of this world is a sign of communion with God. So again, does God love Peter? Well, God gave Peter the opportunity to fulfill his point of determination about his commitment to Jesus, that he would die for Him, with Him. He died not with Him, but for Him, you see. He died for His testimony. God gave that to Peter. And Peter understands this thing, and so as he writes in 1 Peter 4, beginning at verse 12, He takes us through the whole idea of this thing. 1 Peter 4, beginning at verse 12. Dearly beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is among you to prove you as though some strange thing were come unto you. But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings. that when his glory shall appear, ye may be glad and rejoice. If ye be railed upon for the name of Christ, blessed are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you, which on their part is evil spoken of, but on your part is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a busybody in other men's matters. But if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this behalf. For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. If it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them which obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear? Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator." And we ought to hear then in Peter a mature analysis of his calling as an apostle. In other words, the same guy that's teaching this is the guy who Jesus has said will suffer violently and be crucified at the hands of men. Peter's self-conscious and Peter teaches the way we ought to view these things and he says to the church, don't think it's strange that you're in this same position. See, what's true of Peter, what was his future, And what he understood from Jesus to be the way he would die is also true in the common experience of the Christian. So we ought to understand from Peter, and again that's Peter in a mature understanding, saying here is the way we should think of it. We can understand from Peter how it makes its connection with us. Jesus' love for Peter. gave him power and opportunity to seal his testimony with his own life. The death he died was one of privilege, a privileged death in communion with Jesus, a death of verity in the message that he brought to men. And we have to pray for that kind of steadfastness consistent with our own callings. And let's pray. And Father, we do recognize that we are called in Christ, and that places us in opposition with the world and a world system, that there are enemies to the gospel who are our enemies, and that sometimes inexplicable enemies from places that we don't understand are in opposition to us. And we pray that whatever it is that our place and calling is from your hand, we would be steadfast, that we also would testify the gospel truth with a steadfastness that would be noticed and seen by others, that would bring glory to you, that would verify the truth and the supernatural power of the gospel. And we pray that you would work that in us by your own spirit and power. In Jesus' name, amen.