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Sermon: Even When We Fail, Jesus Is There
Luke 22:31-34
31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
how many of you Have ever failed in some way?
Maybe you've caused trouble and heartache for your family or friends?
Maybe you've made a decision that had a lasting impact on your life?
Maybe it had an impact on others as well.
Many times when we fail, those who are the closest to us are the first to judge us or throw us away!
The Word of God doesn’t tell us to judge or throw someone away!
Scripture says “If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
We have all been in difficult situations at one time or another.
There may be one here tonight, who has fallen into sin and you feel all alone.
You are embarrassed, ashamed and afraid.
You feel that there is no hope, that there is no answer to your problem.
You feel that there is no answer to the situation that you find yourself in.
I have good news! that I have come to preach here tonight.
When no one else cares, JESUS DOES!
When others won’t forgive, JESUS WILL!
When you feel unlovable, JESUS LOVES!
We are not perfect,
We make bad choices,
We fall into temptation,
We sin,
But we are not without hope.
If you have fallen away,
If you have sinned
Jesus has not thrown you away!
He still loves you.
He knew you were going to sin before you did it.
I am not here to make excuses or to endorse sin,
but I do want to share a few words of encouragement for those who have.
I want to look at what is desired from you.
I want to see what Satan desires for you
then I wan't to see what the Savior desires for us.
I wan't you to consider the thought “ Even When We Fail, Jesus Is There"
first let's look at
I. Our Scheming Adversary
v31 the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Jesus gives Peter a warning that “Satan desired to have him”.
If you are TRULY saved you are secure and Satan cannot harm your soul.
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Even with that known Satan still desires to affect your life and testimony and cause you fall if possible.
We deal with Satan on a daily basis.
Temptation comes,
spiritual attacks are real.
Life would be great if we could live it without these attacks.
But it doesn’t work that way
1) Why does Satan desire you?
The verse says “That he may sift you as wheat”
This is an farming term that refers to the process of separating the husk of the wheat from the grain. The wheat was crushed under foot, and then it was thrown into the air. The chaff, or husk, was blown away by the wind and the good grain was left behind.
Satan wanted to prove that Peter was not genuine in his faith;
He believed that he would be successful at making Peter fail.
He had been successful with Judas,
so why not go after the rest of the disciples as well
Consider the actions of the disciples after this conversation: Peter denies Jesus and all but John practically disappear for a while.
Just like the disciples, Satan desires to have you and sift you as wheat just as much as he desired to have them. -
1 Peter 5:8 ¶Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Satan wants you to become discouraged and give up.
If he is successful you will lose peace, joy and victory in your life.
When this happens you will have a negative effect on everyone you come in contact with.
You will be a negative impact on other Christians.
You will also have a negative impact on the lost.
This is excatly what Satan wants.
He desires everyone here.
If you are lost he wants to deceive you into believing that you don’t need Jesus.
He wants you to think that there are no consequences to living a life of sin.
If you are saved, he wants to deceive you into believing that the Christian life is not worth it,that you can’t live it, that you are wasting your time, that you are missing out on all of the good stuff that you can’t have a successful Christian walk.
Satan always desires destruction, but as we will see in v32 Jesus desires determination.
II. Our Strong Anchor
v32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
From the beginning of your walk with Christ until you are at home in glory, Jesus wants DEVOTION! -
Matthew 16:24 ¶Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Notice the phrase “That thy faith fail not”
We all know that Peter failed in a huge way, but his faith was not overthrown.
Jesus was calling Peter to live with determination and endurance.
So many times we have the mindset that we know we are going to fail so why fight it.
The bible gives several verses that prove that is the wrong mindset to have.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Sometimes it is hard to keep this determination,
I can’t think of a verse that is more encouraging than v32 in our text
“But I have prayed for thee”
How awesome this is,
Peter hasn’t even done anything yet and Jesus says ” I PRAYED for thee” (past tense)
It is such a blessing when someone says I’ll pray for you, but in my opinion it is so much more special to hear someone say I prayed for you. (In the past tense)
It is a blessing to think that you would love me enough to think about me when I am not around and send up a prayer.
How much greater it is to think that Jesus prays for us! -
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
When you face temptation,
remember that Jesus is there.
Jesus knew Peter was soon to fall, but even knowing this he gives him instructions for when he is restored. “and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren”
We are going to fall,
I wish it wasn’t true but it is.
But we must quit using this as an attempt to justify our sin.
We must be determined to strive toward perfection. (STOP MAKING EXCUSES!!!)
This verse is a prime example of how we who have fallen and been restored should strengthen and encourage those who have fallen away.
So far we have seen that Satan desires to destroy and Jesus desires devotion but before we close, I want to examine Peter’s desire
v33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
Regardless of his many faults, Peter was devoted to Christ.
He was a man of great faith.
He even walked on water for awhile
he was part of Jesus’ inner circle
think of what he accomplished after the resurrection and ascension.
Notice Peter’s reply “I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death”
Even though we know what is fixing to happen.
I believe that Peter was sincere when he made this proclamation.
I believe he truly wanted to be devoted 100% to Christ.
How many times have you come to this altar and said a genuine prayer and you get up with full intentions of following through.
But when Monday morning comes and life happens you fall right back into that same old rut and follow the flesh instead of the spirit.
Remember what we just read – Jesus is praying for you!
That ought to be motivation enough to press ahead and turn from your lifestyle of sin.
What we must do is simple – REPENT! -
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Conclusion: What about you? Where do you fit in this story?
We know Satan desires to have you. Does he? If so you can be like Peter and be restored.
We know Jesus desires to have you - Does he? If not you can make that decision today.
Do you desire to be devoted? Are you? If not, today can be the day that you get in line with God’s will for you life.
Let's pray!
