The “Knot” In Peter’s Tale
The Apostle Peter was an interesting man. He identified and named Jesus. Mt 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. He preached the first Gospel sermon, Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: He tried to walk on water. Matt. 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
But Peter had a FAITH problem, and he started to sink. Matt.14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
How many times do we have our faith sink? How many times do we pray? “Lord, save me?”
Once Peter’s faith CRASHED! He denied Christ! Luke 22:57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
Jesus had been taken away to be crucified and Peter didn’t want to be next! He was scared!
Again Peter denied Christ. Luke 22:58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
He was scared
Peter was again confronted and again he denied Christ. (Seems Peter was becoming consistent) Luke 22:59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest.
Three times Peter denied Christ. Three times Peter LIED!
Peter’s faith fell. How is your faith?
• Is It Mustard seed size? Mt 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
• Is your faith gone? Mark 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?
• Is Your faith wavering? Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
• Faith proudly spoken of, Ro 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. That’s a BIG faith!
How Do We Build Faith? Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
How do we live by faith? Romans 1:17 For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.
DO YOU LIVE BY FAITH? The Just shall live by Faith, are you JUST? Is your heart right with God? Matt 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
If your heart is not right with God, you are bringing forth evil things. If your heart is not right with God, you’re lost. Look at 2 John 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.
If your faith is gone and you are living in sin, you HAVE NOT GOD! You only have one option, Obey the Gospel invitation or be lost. This world will not stand forever. “Oh Lord, What a morning, when the stars begin to Fall” Rev 6:12 And I beheld, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
There will come an end of days. Are you ready? The earth will be no more and eternity goes on forever. Mt 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Matt 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
If HELL is prepared for Satan and his Angels, why would you want to go there?
Since Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people, John 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
We have to hear the word of God. Not just the nouns and verbs but hear and understand what is being taught. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So it’s not just hearing, but it’s hearing the word of God.
We have to believe what we have heard. These are not just words; they are the footsteps of Jesus and the plan of salvation. Jesus said, John 8:24 “For if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” Belief in Christ is essential. There is NO other way.
We must repent of our sins. Jesus said in “Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Unless we repent, we perish. That is the consequence of SIN.
We must confess that Jesus is the Christ, The only begotten son of God. Jesus said in Matt10:32 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. (33) But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
We must be baptized. “Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. The eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? Galatians 3:27 “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 1 Peter 3:21 “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”
Don’t let the knot in Peter’s tale be your knot too
Today is the day of salvation. A Baptistry is prepared and ready and now is the time to respond to the Gospel. Will you come forward now and respond to the Gospel as the stand and sing?
