Matthew 26:69-75 | Suriyan Paramathas

[0:00] Morning. There we go. I am not really good at small talk, especially the small talk that you're supposed to have at! the beginning of messages.

[0:13] But I try my best. The weather is looking good, right? 70? That is good stuff. If only I lived in a place that was 70 degrees all year round. That would be pretty exciting.

[0:29] Yeah, it is so good to be here at Bethel. It's a huge privilege for me to have another opportunity to speak. Didn't think that they were going to ask me back. They didn't. Well, they kind of did. Tom texted me like a week and a half ago. I wasn't planning on speaking this week.

[0:46] And he texted me and was like, so you're speaking on the 24th, right? And I was like, yeah, I guess so. All right. So didn't have too much time to prepare. But man, God is so gracious and good. And it is just so cool to see the way, like even the small ways that he answers my prayers. Yeah.

[1:08] Yeah. On Thursday, I was like just so incredibly anxious and nervous. And I had only like had half of my message written out. And I was like just in distress. And I cried out to the Lord.

[1:20] And it was just so cool to see just the way that he's put like thoughts into my mind. And yeah, I could not be standing up here without like the grace of God. And like truly, yeah, when you come up to me after, like you can say good job, but like truly, it's just like the Lord 100%. Yeah.

[1:45] Let's see. Um, I was always like this in school. I never really like was able to absorb what I'm learning unless I have an exam to study for. That's always how I've been. And so for me, this is like a spiritual exam and I've really been able to absorb what I'm studying. And it's just a huge blessing for me. I'm probably, um, getting more out of my message than you guys are just from the studying that I've been able to do. And so, um, yeah, it's been really cool what the Lord's been showing me. And so I look forward to sharing that with you guys this morning. Um, yeah. So with that being said, before we start, let's, uh, let's ask the Lord for help.

[2:25] Dear Lord, thank you for the stay, God. Thank you. Um, God, I am, I'm so weak and I'm so just unworthy and unqualified. And God, I, I truly just cannot do this without you, Lord. You, um, yeah.

[2:41] Thank you, Lord, for your grace towards me and, um, your kindness that even, even while I was far off, you, you brought me near and you've redeemed me and restored me. And, um, and Lord, you're able to work through just such a, um, just wretched individual. And I'm just so grateful for you this morning, Lord. And, um, Lord, I ask that, um, that you would just really use this message to impact the lives of those who are here, Lord. I know that it's, it's nothing that I'm going to say.

[3:05] It's not the eloquent words that I use. It's, um, yeah, it's all you, Lord. Your, your word is living and active. Your spirit is going to move and, and impact the lives of those who are listening. And so I pray that, um, yeah, that you would get all the credit and all the glory and, um, that you would be honored above all, Lord. And so, um, we just lift up this, this time to you and ask that you would bless it in Jesus name. Amen. All right. Last time I gave a message, I, I did a poor job of actually like staying in the passage, um, that I was assigned. And this time, uh, will be a little bit more of the same, unfortunately. So I'll be, I'll be moving around a lot. Um, so bear with me, but I promise I'm going somewhere and everything that I bring up gets us to the destination of my main point, which does happen to be drawn out of the main passage, by the way. Um, so I had three main points. I didn't have any main points last time. And then Jordan Kleppel came up to me after. And the first thing he said to me was, you need main points. And so here, Jordan's not even here. So whatever, it's fine. But I got three main points just for Jordan. Um, and they're all centered around the character of Peter. Um, and so the first being the pride of Peter, um, if you want to write them down. Uh, and we'll look at, um, how spiritual pride played a part, um, in his denial of Jesus. Um, my second point is the poignant grief of

[4:28] Peter. I had to practice the word poignant. Um, and I'll get to what that means in a little bit. Um, and we'll see how this, how his sin led him to this place of just like great pain and like grief. Um, and then obviously Peter's story doesn't end there. And my third point is the renewed passion of Peter. And we'll look at how God redeemed Peter and used this great sin to grow his passion and love for Christ. Um, one of my, Dave Thomas, one of my favorite guys of all time, uh, one of his quotes is, I'm a slave to the alliteration. And I feel that way too. Um, I almost didn't have a third point because I couldn't find a good P word that articulated like what I wanted to communicate. And I almost, um, yeah, it doesn't quite work like passion, but it'll have to do because I needed three and then it was a P word. So my three points, the pride of Peter, the poignant grief of Peter, and then the renewed passion of Peter. Um, and so with that in mind, let's consider what we know about Peter. Um, Peter is one of the main characters of the New Testament. Um, and this may surprise you. It surprised me. Um, other than Jesus, of course, Peter's name is mentioned the most, 191 times, which is ahead of who we all thought would probably be the most, which is Paul. And he's only mentioned 184 times.

[5:48] And then the next closest to him, I got all of this from chat GBT, by the way, so you might want to look it up yourself. Not the whole message, just like these numbers. Um, the next is the disciple whom Jesus loved, John at 29 mentions. Um, I always find it funny with John because he's only described as the disciple whom Jesus loved, like in the book of John. So like calling yourself the disciple whom Jesus loved is kind of funny, but I can't blame him because, um, when I was younger, like 11 or 12, um, the wifi, like router name at our house was Suryan is mom's fave. And it wasn't because I'm my mom's fave, but it's because I was the only one who knew how to change the name of the wifi router. So anyways, I can't really like, yeah, trash John that much, but I just always find that funny. Um, but yeah, when you think of prominent figures in the new Testament, the first person who you think about is Paul. Um, but an argument could be made for Peter. And obviously he played a huge part in establishing, in establishing the early church. Um, more than a third of the book of Acts is focused on Peter. Um, and then even in the gospel accounts, Peter is the first disciple mentioned. Um, something else that's interesting, obviously we know that each of the gospel accounts is trying to portray something different about Jesus. Um, and so they all follow the life of Jesus, but from like a different perspective. And so some of the, the parables and some of the miracles that are mentioned are different. Um, but what's interesting about that is that there are 13 events that are included in all four gospels, only 13. Of course, 11 of those 13 are about Jesus, which makes sense. He's the, like the main character of the whole Bible. So 11 of those 13 are about Jesus. Um, but what's fascinating is the other two are about Peter. And so the first being when Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, that's mentioned in all four gospels. And then the second is the passage that we're looking at today, which is

[7:50] Peter denying Jesus. Um, and the point I'm trying to make in all of this is, is Peter was a pretty important guy. And it seems like he was the most prominent disciple. Um, and you get the sense if you ignore that John is the, um, the disciple whom Jesus loved, that, that Peter was closer to the Lord than any of the other, uh, disciples. Um, and so I wonder if there is this opportunity for pride to start building in his life. Um, and here's what I mean. If you'll turn with me to Matthew chapter, um, 26, verse 30. Um, Ted spoke on this passage a few weeks ago while a lot of us were in California. Um, but what I want to draw out of his, out of this passage, um, is something a little different than what he drew out of it. Um, and so if you're here for his message, uh, please don't tune me out. Um, and if you weren't here for this message, uh, also please don't tune me out. Um, but yeah, I want to look at the pride of Peter. Um, so starting in verse 30, and when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

[8:58] Then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered him, though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.

[9:14] Jesus said to him, truly, I tell you this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Peter said to him, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all the disciples said the same. And so, um, yeah, just focusing in on verse 33, though they all fall away, I will never fall away. And as if he was saying like, you know, I could see all of those guys falling away, but, but me, I could never. That's not something that I am like capable of doing. Like, Lord, was I, was I not the first disciple whom you called? Um, was I not the, the, the only disciple who, who like tried to walk on water? Like, don't you remember, Lord? I was the first disciple to confess you as the Christ. And then you told me that, that I'm the rock upon which you will build your church. Um, like, how could I possibly deny you? And then he makes this ambitious statement in verse 35, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. Um, and I think this is a, a commendable pledge for Peter to make, but I can't help but wonder if there are thoughts of pride in his heart as he made it. Um, you don't have to turn there in Luke, um, the, the passage about Peter's denial, the passage right before, um, the disciples are arguing about who is the greatest disciple. That's, that's the argument that takes place before Jesus says, um, you will deny me. Or, yeah, before Jesus foretells Peter's denial. And, and so I wonder, um, if maybe that argument was still fresh in Peter's mind as he, um, as he made that pledge to the Lord.

[10:50] Um, yeah, Romans 12, 3 says, For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. And so it just seems to me that Peter was starting to think of himself more highly, um, than he ought to. Um, yeah, I think Peter's story is just a great example of spiritual pride, manifesting itself in a believer. And as someone who, like, for sure, 100% struggles with, with spiritual pride, this is kind of how it goes. Um, you start to see, like, fruit in your life, you start to see that you're growing in the Lord, and then start, and then thoughts of pride start entering your mind. And honestly, it's almost like subconscious, but you start to see spiritual, spiritual growth in terms of what you've done, rather than, um, what Christ has done in you by his grace. And so slowly you start to become less reliant on what, um, on the Lord, and you start to follow the Lord by your own strength. Um, instead of coming to the Lord on his terms, which is by grace through faith, we draw near to the Lord on our own terms. And sometimes we as believers, if we're not careful, we can have, we can start to have this, this legalistic and unscriptural understanding of following the Lord. Um, we start to have this transactional view of God where we think, because I did this, God loves me this much. Because I didn't sin very much this week, I'm closer to God.

[12:35] Because I gave money, or because I, I read scripture a lot this week, or prayed a lot, or because I've served at camp all summer, or because I did this, or this, because I did this for God and that for God, we start to think that we are closer to God because of the things that we've done.

[12:50] And I really believe that's what's happening with Peter. He's seen the growth in his life. He's seen that he's closer to the, to, to the Lord than all the other disciples. Um, he knows that God has set him apart for this special purpose, but he, he had forgotten about the grace of God that had carried him thus far. Beloved, we are a forgetful people. And so we must, like, continually see ourselves in light of God's grace. And so I would exhort and urge you, would our hearts and minds be set on this idea that without the Lord's work in our lives, we are nothing. Right? When we see God, and then when we see God working in our lives, we must be quick to praise the Lord and give him all the credit.

[13:30] Because if it were up to us, like, we would deny him every time. We see another example of Peter's pride when Jesus is getting arrested. Um, Jeffrey talked about it, um, last week, but one of, um, the main points that he mentioned was, will we choose the cup or the sword?

[13:50] Will we choose the will of the Father and take the cup? Or will we try to do things on our own way, by our own strength, and take the sword? Um, and I wonder if Peter and his pride thought, if I try and protect Jesus, if I prove my love for him, I wanted to die for him, maybe I'll die for him this way. If I, if I try to, if I do this for the Lord, then I'll prove my love for him. But Jesus rebukes him in verse 52, same chapter, um, it says, then Jesus said to him, put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? Yeah. He's essentially, saying to Peter, I don't need you. And if we're thinking correctly, we should start to see, like, the great privilege it is for us to, that God has allowed us to, to fellowship with him, to commune with him, to serve him, right? When we're thinking correctly about ourselves, we just, we, we understand how utterly useless we are to the almighty God, right? When we're thinking correctly, we start to realize that there is truly nothing for you and I to be prideful about. Um, yeah. We ought to just completely understand who we are in light of the cross, in light of what Christ has done in us. Um, and it, it should create within us this, like, deep gratitude and love for Christ. Because God did not need to save us. God doesn't need our praise. He doesn't need us to glorify him. He doesn't need our attention. He doesn't need our adoration. He doesn't need our praise. He doesn't need, he doesn't need our lives. He is all sufficient. But yet, he still wants us. Which is so cool. He wants us, not for his sake, but for our sake. Because he knows that it is so good for us to be in fellowship with him. And he, he knows that there is just so much great joy and there's abundant life for us through him, but he doesn't need us. That's, that's, that's what we need to understand. And so just like he wanted to use Peter to establish his church, he most definitely did not need Peter. And he wants to use each and every one of us in mighty ways, but we were only most effective for him when we're thinking correctly about ourselves. Um, so finally, we'll get to, like, the main passage that I was assigned. Um, and we'll stay in it for, like, a few minutes, I think. Um, yeah, after they arrested, and so, yeah, verse 69 of Matthew 26, after they arrested Jesus, it says all the disciples left him and fled.

[16:25] And so I'm not sure where all the other disciples went, but maybe they hid, maybe they went and hid in fear for their lives. Um, but in verse 69 of Matthew 26, we catch up with Peter again. And if the, and if the title at the top of the passage didn't spoil what was going to happen, um, one might have thought, hmm, maybe Peter is going to pull through with his pledge. Maybe Peter even thought, I knew that those guys were going to fall away, but look at me. I haven't fallen, I haven't fallen yet. I'm still, I'm right outside the courtyard. I'm sitting there, I haven't fallen. Um, but yeah, let's read on in verse 69, um, and let's act like we don't know what's about to happen. Um, verse 69, now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him and said, you also are with Jesus the Galilean. But he denied it before them all saying, I do not know what you mean. And he went out to the entrance and another servant girl saw him. And she said to the bystanders, this man was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again, he denied it with an oath. I do not know the man. And a look, and after a little while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, certainly you two are one of them for your accent betrays you. Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know the man. And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Um, yeah, it's interesting. I don't, I don't usually study the Greek. Um, yeah, I, I'm not much of a nerd, but I, I was looking at the Greek and the Greek words for deny. There's two words for deny.

[17:57] Um, one of them is our Neomai and the other is a par Neomai. And so our Neomai means to, to contradict, to, to deny, to disavow, to reject, to disown. Um, and that adds up and makes sense. Um, but a par Neomai, it's the same thing, but it, it, it describes this like higher degree to which Peter denied. Um, and so the strong concordance, like describes it as like to deny utterly. Um, and so the first two times Peter denies, um, Jesus, the word for deny is our Neomai. Um, but you can like sense the emotion is rising, the like tension is building, drama is building. Um, and then when Peter denies him the third time, the word that is used, um, for deny in verse 75 is a par Neomai. And so it's Peter, remember the saying of Jesus before the rooster crows, you will a par Neomai meet three times.

[19:01] Um, you will, you will utterly deny me. And so I want us to sort of grasp the depth of his sin, right? The man who had promised to, um, die for the Lord had fallen so harshly that the disciple who was arguably the closest with the Lord had utterly denied the Lord. Um, so yeah, I've, I've already talked about a lot about the pride of Peter, but my next point is the poignant grief of Peter. And so the phrase that I want to hone in on at the end of verse 75, um, is, and he went out and wept bitterly.

[19:35] Um, and the Greek word for bitterly is used twice in scripture. Um, it's used in Luke's account of Peter's denial and then it's used in this account of Peter's denial. Um, the word for bitterly is picos and it describes this poignant grief. Um, and if you're like me, you probably also don't know what poignant is. Um, and so the Merriam-Webster dictionary describes it as like painfully affecting the feelings, like this sharp and piercing pain. And so when it says he wept bitterly, it describes this, this sharp and piercing pain that he felt in regard to his sin. When he realized how grievously he had sinned against the Lord, it brought him to this place of like great anguish and despair. And so the reason I want to bring up the poignant grief of Peter is I want to see, I want us to see how this great sorrow and pain led to a greater joy in Christ and a deeper love for Christ. Um, if you'll turn with me to Luke chapter, um, seven, I know Ted wanted me to go to John 21. Um, but who knows? Maybe we'll get there eventually. Um, we'll see. Uh, Luke chapter seven. Yeah, I wasn't even planning on bringing this up and then, um, the Lord brought it to my mind and I was like, wow, that is really cool. Um, yeah, I think this passage articulates the point that I'm trying to make really well. In verse 36, it says, one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask, um, of ointment. And standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said to him,

[21:47] Simon, I have something to say to you. And he answered, say it teacher. A certain money lender had two debtors. One owed him 500 denarii and the other 50. When he could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more? Simon answered, the, the one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt. And he said to him, you have judged rightly. Um, yeah, I find it really interesting that Jesus, um, that Jesus said this specifically to, to Peter. Um, yeah, and scripture doesn't say this, but I wonder if Peter at the time could not, like, comprehend how someone can feel so much emotion over their sins that they would come before their savior and fall at his feet and worship him. Like, how could someone have sinned so much to be brought to this, like, this low place of hopelessness and then joy when they realize who it was who was reclining that table? Like, how could, how could someone possibly sin that much? And I wonder if that's, um, yeah, I wonder if he had that thought process at the time. Um, but I like how Jesus calls out Peter and he says, you think you love me? Like, look at this woman. And he says in verse 44, then turning to the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and has wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. He's telling Peter, if you love me and you know it and you really want to show it, um, you don't need to prove yourself to me by these pledges made in pride, right? Like, true, like, phileo, deep, intimate love for me should stem not from what you've done for me, but from what I've done for you in forgiving your sins, right? Follow the example of this woman. Humble yourself. Take the position of humility and then fall at my feet and worship me, right? This is how God desires that we approach him, recognizing that we can never earn his love, realizing that we have nothing to offer him that could ever come close to what he did for us, but yet still offering all that we have to the Lord, pouring out ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. That, that should be our spiritual worship. That should be, this is how God desires that we worship him. Reading on in verse 7, uh, reading on in verse 47, um, therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. Yeah, Peter could not truly love Jesus until he realized how wretched he was in and of himself, right? God, I think God used Peter's denial to bring him low, to bring him to this place of great sorrow and poignant grief in order that Peter's love would abound for her Savior, um, that much more. Um, I'll never forget this. One of the missionaries who hosted us in California, um, during one of the prayer times, he got up, um, and he prayed, and, like, those who are there can probably attest to this. The way that he prayed was just so, like, just different, like, just so, like, fresh, and, um, just honestly so, like, life-giving, and, um, yeah, but something that he did, like, it sticks in my mind, and I continue to remember, he started, um, dwelling on his past sinfulness, and, like, when I say past sinfulness, I mean, like, 30 plus years ago, sins that he committed in high school, um, he was just, like, remembering his lukewarm attitude towards God in high school, and the, the, like, the hypocrisy that he used to live in, um, and he started to get, like, emotional about his sin, and you can tell that who he was when he lived, um, way back when, and, like, the sin that he used to live in, like, genuinely grieved him, but it wasn't like he was, like, still felt this, like, guilt and shame over his sin, um, but he, he was remembering his sin because it created within him this deep appreciation for Christ and, and what Christ had done, and so, like, I would urge you to dwell on the sins of your past

[25:50] so that your love for Christ would increase exponentially, and, like, we can't fully comprehend, like, the sheer depths of our depravity, um, but, like, consider, like, the, the things that God has delivered you from, and, um, like, try to comprehend who you are without Christ and what God has delivered you from, and then as you dwell in the sheer depths of the depravity of your sin, you will start to experience, like, the joy of the Lord in this, this new and fresh way, and, and it will, like, just radically transform your love for God to the point of this, like, full obedience and, and, like, full submission to whatever the Lord calls you to, when you realize that you have nothing without the Lord, and, like, Jesus Christ is your everything. Like, that, that's what, that's what, like, when I think of just how wretched I was before Christ, yeah, it, it will just transform your love for God, um, and I, we see this transformation of Peter, um, in John 21, turn with me there, um, John 21, um, uh, you don't have to turn there. I'm going to read a quick verse from Luke chapter 5, actually, but I'm going to get to John 21 eventually, um, and for sake of time, I'm just going to summarize what happened, what, what's happening in Luke chapter 5, um, yeah, but I want to highlight, um, in this section, the renewed passion of Peter, and so I'm sure you know the story, um, they had been fishing all night, they had caught nothing, Jesus comes along, he tells them to cast the net on the other side, um, and, and they did, and they caught so many fish that their nets were breaking, um, but the verse I want to highlight, um, looking at that account is verse 8, and it says, but when Simon

[27:42] Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knees, saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord, and so, like, we see when Peter first met the Lord, he was filled with this incredible love for Christ, and this love stemmed not from what he had done, but he realized who he was before the, the holy, righteous God of the universe, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, um, yeah, and when he first believed, he just fell at the feet of the Lord, just fully in awe of who Jesus is, um, and then it seems like somewhere along the way, he had lost sight of who Christ was, um, and what Christ had done in his life, and eventually his pride would lead him to the lowest point in his life, um, and in John 21, we see Peter in the same situation, um, after Jesus's death and resurrection, he had already appeared to the disciples twice, and this is, um, he's appearing to them for the third time, and for some reason, um, they're going, they're fishing again, and same situation, fishing all night, couldn't catch anything, um, but you have this, like, really cool full circle moment where it's like, this is Peter, what I just read was Peter at the start of, like, meeting Jesus, and then now Peter again, and what I want to look at is, yeah, in verses six and seven, after Jesus had performed, um, the miracle, he said to them, yeah, cast your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some, so they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because of the quantity of fish, um, that disciple whom Jesus loved, therefore said to Peter, it is the Lord. When Peter heard that he, it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in, came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far off from the land, but about a hundred yards off. Um, yeah, I wonder if Peter in this moment was taken, taken back to when he first met the Lord, um, and just think about, like, this idea that, like, before he met Christ, he had, he had no fish, then Christ came, and there was abundant fish, and before, before he met Christ, he said, depart from me, for I'm a sinful man. He was nothing.

[29:58] Before he, before Christ, he was nothing, and then Christ came along and gave him everything. Like, beloved, don't lose sight of the cross of Christ. Like, we who are far off have been brought near by the, by the blood of Christ, we who are nothing, we who are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked, we now have abundant life in Christ, and that should, that should just give us so much joy, um, and love for Christ, right, so much so that we drop everything, jump out of the boat, and, and swim a hundred yards, and enter, so that we could just, like, enter into the, like, presence of the Lord and fellowship with him. Like, that's what we have. We have the presence of the Lord, and we can just go to that every, like, whenever we want, and yet sometimes we don't. But, yeah.

[30:38] That should just give us so much, so much joy that we can have fellowship with God. Um, and I think it's funny that they act like swimming a hundred yards is nothing, but it, like, I can't, that's a whole football field. Anyways, um, yeah, what a gift that God has allowed us to partake in. Um, skipping ahead to verse 15 of the same chapter, um, I know we have lunch, so I don't want to, yeah, um, I'll try to speed it up. Peter and Jesus have this moment of reconciliation and restoration. Um, so, yeah, in 21, verse 15, said, uh, when they had 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, do you love me? Peter is grieved because he asked him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that

[31:46] I love you. Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Yeah, you can't, you can't have a message about Peter's denial without mentioning this passage. Um, and there's so much that you can draw out of it. Um, I wish I would have had more time to look at this passage, but I didn't. Um, so I have like one last sort of quick side point, um, and I'm wrapping up. So yeah, the musicians can come up, um, yeah, whenever they feel like it, but I have a, um, we, we, at the start of the message, we saw a Peter who was just, he desperately wanted to follow Christ, but there was pride in his life. Um, and, and so he thought that he could show his love for Christ by his own strength on his own actions. Um, God showed him otherwise and humbled him and brought him to this point of poignant grief so that his love and passion for Christ would increase and abound. And so now we see in this passage, Christ is restoring him and reminding him that even though his sin is great, God is still going to use, um, him to lead his church. And so like, what an amazing, that's, that's encouraging to me because like what an amazingly large task that is for someone who's so incredibly weak. Um, but I'm reminded of second Corinthians 12, nine, which says, but he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will most,

[33:08] I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. And so the Lord made Peter weak and brought him low so that he could redeem and restore and ultimately use Peter to do like awesome things for the kingdom of God. Um, but it was only once he fully comprehended, um, who he was, um, without Christ and then who he is because of Christ. Um, so yeah, let's pray. Lord, thank you for the stay, God. Thank you for, um, yeah, just for your word and, um, for all that it can teach us. Thank you for the example of Peter and, um, yeah, someone who, um, yeah, had to struggle with pure spiritual pride. Um, but Lord, you, you brought him low and then you ultimately, um, yeah, redeemed and restored his life. And I'm thankful that you can do that, um, for each one of us, that you can just, um, radically change our lives in such a crazy way and then use us to do great things, even though you truly just don't need us, but yet you still love us and want us. And so, um, we're thankful for us. Uh, we're thankful for that this morning, Lord. Um, yeah. Amen.