RT Kendall Peace Be With You

on this Easter Sunday I want us to see a fresh how Jesus practiced what he preached I want to read from the Gospel of John first chapter 20 beginning at verse 19 this is on Easter day on the evening of that day the first day of the week the doors being locked where the disciples were for the fear of the Jews Jesus came and stood among them and said to them peace be with you when he had said this he showed them his hands and his side and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord jesus said to them again peace be with you as the father has sent me even so I am sending you and then another passage from John chapter 21 when they finished breakfast jesus said to Simon Peter Simon son of John do you love me more than these he said to him yes Lord you know that I love you he said to him feed my lambs he said to him a second time Simon son of John do you love me he said to him yes Lord you know that I love you he said to him tend my sheep he said to him a third time Simon son of John do you love me Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time do you love me and he said to him Lord you know everything you know that I love you jesus said to him feed my sheep truly truly I say to you when you were young you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted but when you're old you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go he said this to show by what kind of death Peter was to glorify God and after that he said to him follow me brief word of Prayer Heavenly Father I pray now for the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus by your Holy Spirit to be upon every mind who sees this today in order that their perception of what I say will be received as you intend cleanse my tongue that I will be a transparent instrument to say everything that needs to be sitting I think it doesn't need to be said help me to be clear simple let this be life-changing and may this word bring great honor and glory to your name I pray in Jesus name Amen well it's one thing to practice a high standard after you have preached it that's what we're going to see now I'm not referring to when Jesus on the cross prayed for his enemies and pray for those who had crucified Him he did that Father forgive them but they don't know what they are doing but I'm talking about an event on Easter and I want us to see how important this is how relevant it is to all of us when it comes to the issue of total forgiveness well Simon Peter sincerely thought that he loved Jesus more than the other disciples and so you may recall that he piously said Lord wash not only my feet but also my hands he was praying one-upmanship with the eleven and then Peter said to Jesus Lord I will lay down my life for you and jesus knew better he said before the rooster crows you will have denied me three times well the truth is not only did Peter deny knowing Jesus but all the disciples matthew 2556 says they all forsook him and fled well think of this after three years of being spoon-fed tutored led Jesus took time with these disciples they'd heard the Sermon on the Mount they'd heard the parables they'd heard Jesus dialogue with the Sadducees and the Pharisees they were so well trained and now would come up to the very end of what would appear be to be at the end of Jesus life because of his crucifixion and Jesus gives this word and says to Peter you will deny me well Peter didn't believe that at all the truth is Peter honestly thought that he loved the disciples more than the others combined well it's interesting after he said this to Peter Jesus added as we see in the Gospel of Luke but I have prayed for you what is the explanation that Simon Peter after he denied the Lord would be converted and turn around and I could make a case we're talking about how Jesus prayed for him do you realize that we are all dependent upon the prayer of Jesus this is why the Apostle Paul could say in Galatians 2:20 I live by the faith of the Son of God he's referring to Jesus own faith as a man on this earth Jesus had a perfect faith at the right hand of God Jesus intercedes for us he doesn't just say Lord I hope you will do this the prayer of Jesus is effectual and so when he said to Peter but I have prayed for you I wonder if you have ever made the connection between when you sense special grace you could have fallen into sin or you could have disappointed God you do that which makes you so ashamed but for some reason you're kept you are restored and you found that you were loved with an everlasting love I can give you an explanation Jesus was praying for you I can't think of anything more wonderful of this and this is why Paul could say I live by the faith of the Son of God Jesus is praying for me at the right hand of the Father and I can live by that I sometimes put an illustration that goes like this many years ago when we came to England we didn't dream of coming to London to live to be at Westminster Chapel but it turned out that that's what happened well our son TR we call him tiara my name is Robert Dylan he's also Robert children but for some reason we call him tiara as a result of our moving to London to become the minister of Westminster Chapel it meant that TR had to go into the third different school within a space of one year his previous time in English schools have been difficult and he'd been in an English school than a second English school that an American school and now we decided to stay in London and now it was another school we lived at first in Ealing and TR was to go to Montpelier school I'll never forget the Monday morning when I took him for the first time to his new school he was dreading it oh he was dreading it though his feelings are so sorry for him well when we pulled up to the school I said well that'd be praying for you god bless you TR and he wouldn't get out of the car he just wouldn't get I said TR you have to go and he just said no I'm not going I said TR you'll have to go I'm afraid I said look at all those boys look at all the fun you're gonna have these are your new friends and he just said and I thought what am I gonna do and I began to pray to know what to say to TR and this came to me I said TR look at me you look at me I said today I am going to be praying for you non-stop all day long whenever you get scared or nervous just remember at that moment that is praying for you if you have a difficult moment with another student or your new teacher or you're just nervous just remember at that moment whenever it is daddy is praying for you you know he opened the car door I can see him now as he walked toward the playground what was going on there he knew I was praying for him he wasn't trusting his own praying what kept him going he knew that I would be praying for him all day long and I want you to know I did I just pray for him non-stop all day non-stop all day and he was living by my faith that's what Paul meant in part isn't it are there other meanings to this but he met Paulsen I live by the faith of the Son of God I just know he's pray for me and I live by that well jesus said to Peter but I have prayed for you and then you may recall in my previous talk on Palm Sunday if you happen to have heard it that at the end of John chapter 3 after Jesus said you will deny me three times I remind you that there were no chapters and verses in the ancient Greek and it actually reads a you will deny me three times let not your heart be troubled you believe in God in other words forget the chapter and verse those great words let not your heart be troubled or your hearts plural meeting all the disciples you believe in God believe also in me and here's the wonderful thing jesus knew what Peter would do this is why I said I pray for you jesus knew that he would deny him this is why I said in advance but then he added let not your heart be troubled this is the thing it's so wonderful to know we're in love with an everlasting love and to think that God knows what we're going to do but still loves us well that's the wonderful thing well now what I read earlier it takes place on Easter evening now Jesus having been raised from the dead and the disciples were in this room probably the upper room of where they had the Passover possibly the room where they were over there Pentecost in any case they were in this room and behind closed doors and you could be sure these disciples they had heard that Jesus was raised from the dead Mary Magdalene said I have seen the Lord Peter when he went to the tomb he just saw an empty tomb he didn't know what to make of it and now here are the disciples not all of them Judas Iscariot was not a part of the group now Thomas for some reason wasn't there but there were ten disciples and they're afraid they're feeling guilty they're feeling awful and and then all of a sudden Jesus just shows up in the room he came through closed doors we have his glorified resurrected body after being crucified and now raised from the dead and they were so full of fear these disciples now if Jesus were like many of us if you've spent time with someone tutoring them or educating them or teaching them your ways you would like to thank especially if you've had three years doing this that those that you taught would have learned something well not what we have here is Jesus now showing up and there are the 10 disciples they are ridden with guilt ridden with fear and they were so ashamed well what does Jesus say to them does he look at them and say how could you men have done this where were you when I needed you and he could point it out to Peter James and John in Gethsemane and Gethsemane they fell asleep and Jesus came back and said can't you stay with me one hour and Jesus went back and prayed and they fell asleep I will always believe that in that moment when Jesus knew he was going to go to the cross and it was now going to endure the greatest trial of his life he thought well maybe I'll have the three disciples with me in his loneliness that at least they would stand with him well he went the third time and there they were again asleep and you know the way it's put in the King James Version in Matthew's account Jesus just said sleep on now sleep one it was a way of Jesus being resigned to the fact that he wasn't even going to have the three disciples Peter James and John with him to stand with him in this dark dark hour and so now he sees them after being raised from the dead and they don't know what to think as said if Jesus were like so many of us he would have looked at those men and said how dare you do that where were you when I needed you the most what's the matter with you I spent all that time with you maybe they were expecting that and you could make a case they deserved that but no Jesus was different and here is what he said he said peace be with you and then showed him his hands and his feet well why is a word like this important on this Easter Sunday well it's a reminder that none of us should take ourselves so seriously you know Peter as I've been saying he really thought that he loved Jesus warning John did more than James did more than Matthew more than Thomas he really thought he was kind of a cut above the others when it comes to devotion to Jesus and Peter thought he led the way well you know it's just a reminder to let all of us know Paul put it like this 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 12 he that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall here's another verse Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 I would urge every Christian listening to me now have this in your vocabulary this verse know it well the heart is deceitful above all things desperately wicked incurably wicked now that's what Jeremiah said about the heart and if someone says but wait a minute that's before Jesus came well surely you we're not like that now really 1 John 1:8 that's the Epistle of John toward the end of your Bible 1 John chapter 1 verse 8 here's what the Apostle said if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us it's just a reminder unless we begin to take ourselves too seriously and become self-righteousness I never will forget when I first saw that verse years ago I was praying in my room at trevecca and I came across that verse that I thought this is true he doesn't say if we had no said he says if we have no sin you see our condition will be with us until we go to heaven and just a reminder that the best of us who think we know God so well and we think that we love him so much oh we won't let God down well this is why Paul said he that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall and it's a reminder any of us you me we think we're not capable of doing such as soon as we see another person I want you to know when you see another person in their fall in there holding a grudge and they're falling into sexual sin and they're giving in to pride and you want at first maybe to say how could they do that what's the matter with those people you needed to see that you're that person yes you are that person there go i but by the grace of God and so when we consider Peter in this day he is one of the 10 disciples and Jesus says to them peace it's a reminder as I've been saying we are loved with an ever lasting love and what Jesus said to Peter he says to you and me I have prayed for you I have prayed for you let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me because jesus said no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand well the God of the Bible is the God of the second chance am i listening am i are you listening to me and I'm speaking to someone you have let gone down you're feeling guilty you're feeling ashamed and you say how could I have done this I think at that moment you know Jesus said before the rooster crows three times you'll deny me when Peter denied Jesus the third time there was the crowing of the rooster you know I've been to the spot in Jerusalem where apparently and it seems to be pretty reliable this is where Jesus was when he Peter was what he denied Jesus you know the first time I was there it got quiet around and I heard the crowing of a rooster - couldn't believe it it was real at that spot well when Peter heard the crowing of the rooster he looked at Jesus Jesus was looking straight at him and Jesus we're told loved him with an everlasting love and Peter wept sob his heart out cried it was so ashamed is that one listening now you have let gone down there are degrees of backsliding on a scale of 1 to 10 you can say 10 being what Peter did falling into adultery or murders David didn't well maybe it's just a 2 or 3 or 4 when you have a wrong attitude or you fall out with somebody look we're all citizen capable of doing anything and the wonderful thing is that Jesus never becomes disillusioned with us because he had no illusion in the first place we're told at the end of John chapter 2 - Jesus what was in man and he knows us inside and out well the God of the Bible is the God of the second chance God came to Jonah a second time and so when Jesus addressed the disciples that Easter he says listen to this this is what grips me the most as the father has sent me so I send you it was as though nothing had happened you might expect that Jesus would say when I looked I had great plans for you I had plans for you but look you've blown it I can't use you now you've messed up after three years you know nothing like yet and maybe somebody you're listening to me on this Easter you have messed up and you say God could not love me now or you say God certainly could not use me now I used to think maybe I would be used of the Lord but I've messed up do you know what Jesus is saying peace he he just refused to let them feel guilty but that's not all as my father has sent me so send I you it was this nothing happened it was as if they've done no wrong he just even doesn't even mention it in other words what they had done did not destroy God's purpose for them I think the most thrilling verse in the book of Job job chapter 42 verses 1 & 2 where job says now I know no purpose of God can be thwarted sovereign god gracious God loving father and what wonderful news to think look what you've done in the last few hours hasn't stuck anything from happening and lo and behold who would be present to be the preacher on the day of Pentecost you would see with the least deserving the least deserving is surely Simon Peter have been there he was he preached the first sermon the inaugural sermon of the church and I think one of the reasons is the view I take he had so much power is because there was no self-righteousness in him Hey he knew he had no right to be there and that way God could use it and get all the credit Terry story I'm almost ashamed to tell but maybe it will be a blessing one Sunday morning just before walking across a victorious street to Westminster Chapel Louise and I had an argument well I lost my temper I was totally in the wrong but at the time I blame her and I'm ashamed to say I slammed the door push the button on the lift the elevator went down to the bottom walked over into Victoria straight and then the next thing I know I'm in the pulpit at Westminster Chapel and the service is just about to start they're getting ready to play the doxology and I'm bowing my head you know I don't know what the people were thinking when they saw they bowed my head they probably thought oh what a godly man I don't know what they thought but I know what I thought I said Lord I've made such a mess of things today I don't know how you're going to use me today I'm so sorry and then the doxology first hymn and Lewis hasn't come to church yet I thought oh dear I've upset her so much he's not even going to come to church but then after several minutes she came and sat in her place and I kept trying to get her attention during the singing of a hymn she wouldn't even look that me and then read the scripture another him trying to get her attention she wouldn't even look at me then the long pastoral prayer and I look how am I gonna pray but I did and the whole time I was thinking my own wife she must think I'm the worst hypocrite on the planet well then mr. Paden the church secretary comes up and welcomes the people gives the notices says the morning offering will be received nothing I need to write Louise a note and give it to mr. Paden and let him but no I don't want him to read it I don't want him to know and the whole time the Wiis would not look at me now it was time to preach and I stood up fully expecting to be the biggest flop the biggest failure in the history of the Christian Church listen to me I had more power preaching that morning then I'd had in months and months and months I couldn't believe it as I was preaching I just sort of a man of word this is amazing what I'm able to do and then it hit me there was not a of self-righteousness in May huh a bit I think that's the reason God can use me there's no way I'm going to get any glory credit for this I don't deserve even to be here and yet God used me and could it be that your let's some of us fall to teach us a lesson to let us see what we're like in ourselves lest we begin to take ourselves too seriously if I'm honest that it's probably well I don't want since my greatest fault but it's one of my greatest faults taking my self so seriously well Easter Jesus practiced what he preached he did it on Good Friday sang Father forgive them they don't know what they're doing and now on Easter Sunday he says to these men who had forsaken him as my father sent you so send I you don't worry it's as though what you did didn't happen you see God sees the end from the beginning and the blood of Jesus Christ washes away all our sins well now later on when Jesus appeared to the disciples and you remember was at the Sea of Galilee and they were eating fish and then Jesus singled out Peter and here's the way he put it Peter do you love me more than these who are the LEAs it means the other disciples he thought he loved Jesus more than these he says Jesus said he knew exactly how Jesus felt sorry Jesus knew just how Peter felt and he sister Peter do you love me more than these and Peter's still was being self-righteous well Lord you know I love you and all that and it shows that even Peter still would need time to reflect on his sin the truth is Jesus knew what he was like and then gave Peter instructions how he would die and he says you know when you were young you just did what you wanted to do but one day somebody's gonna take you and you are going to be old and you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go showing Peter how he would die you see God knows the end from the beginning he knows where you will be tomorrow he knows where you will be years from now and in this day of the coronavirus crisis were all in it we're all together going well we've never been before as God said to Joshua you are going where you've never been we are all in the position of being where we've never been but the wonderful thing is that God has a plan for each of us and the lesson is we just both keep her eyes on Jesus anything about Peter I don't know how much of what Jesus said to him he was taking and because he said Jesus what about John here how is he gonna die and Jesus said none of your business what if I let him live until I come what's that to you you follow me and I want you to know that God has a plan for your life in detail and you may wonder well what about so-and-so you just keep your eyes on Jesus he's got a plan for you and I'll tear another thing the day will come you'll get to prove that you really do love the Lord I suppose that Peter would do anything somehow to redeem himself as you know show that he did of the Lord well maybe you have messed up and you would like to show that you really do love the Lord God will probably give you that opportunity he's the god of the second chance there was a time when Peter and John were before the Sanhedrin and they not only got lectured by the Sanhedrin but they were beaten and I imagined that in the Sanhedrin these self-righteous Sadducees and a few Pharisees said well we taught them a lesson we won't need to worry about them anymore do you know what Peter and John couldn't believe their luck that they got to be persecuted like that in fact Acts chapter 5 verse 41 read it X 541 when they departed from the council they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer the shame of his name they got a chance to prove they really did love God he may give you that opportunity sooner than you think and I'm asking you now as I close have you let the Lord down and you say god I'm so sorry I do love you it'll give you a chance to show he gives you a second chance he did it with the disciples he would do it with you he's done it with me what a wonderful God we have Jesus practicing what he preached we loved with an everlasting love Heavenly Father I ask you to take this word and apply it by your Holy Spirit in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Kensington Temple

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Length: 34min 9sec (2049 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 14 2020