Very, very immature.
You see, for example, his impetuosity coming through.
You know, Peter was a strange man, and
yet perhaps not so strange.
Peter felt that he had to comment about
everything.
Now, we sometimes meet people like that still.
They simply have to say something.
They can't be quiet.
And Peter was a man like that.
Whatever happens, he's got to say something about
it.
He's got to respond in words.
He doesn't think so much, but he talks.
And his lips seem to move before his
mind has had any opportunity to consider what
he's going to say.
Now, you find that in so very many
places.
You find it here in this text.
Our Lord has warned him of certain things.
And then Peter blurts out and says, I
don't mind.
What about the others?
But I am prepared.
I am ready to go with you to
prison and to death.
It doesn't matter what's coming to the rest
of them.
But as for me, you may count on
me.
You know, he'll have to pay very dearly
for that.
One day, not all that distant from this
period, this occasion, Jesus will say to him,
Simon Peter, do you really love me more
than these?
In which he will be referring back to
this very statement of his.
It doesn't matter what's going to happen to
all of us.
I'm ready to come.
I'm ready to follow.
Do you really?
You see, he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
He made promises that he'd never considered.
You have the same thing on many, many
occasions just around this time.
We saw it just after Caesarea Philippi.
When he tried to dissuade his Lord from
going to the cross.
We see it in the episode of the
feet washing.
He has acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah,
the Son of the Living God.
Now Jesus comes to wash his feet.
Simon said, man alive, he says, you're not
going to wash my feet.
You, my feet, not on your life.
And then you notice the change.
You see, he doesn't think.
Jesus said, except I wash thee, thou hast
no part of me.
All right, says Peter, going right to the
other extreme.
Not only my feet, but my hands and
my head wash me all over.
You see, it's just talk, blab, blab, blab.
Do you say that in Canada?
Talk, impetuosity.
He's got to have his say.
Impetuous.
But one thing, his intentions were good.
Now, nothing I have said must be allowed
to cast the least cloud over Simon Peter's
intentions.
I think if we could only read Simon's
heart, Simon always meant the best.
At this stage, I mean.
He always aimed, in his heart, at the
highest.
Even when he's acting most incoherently and unwisely,
he wants the best for his Lord.
The fact of the matter is this.
He neither knew himself well enough, nor did
he know his Lord's plan well enough.
For he didn't ponder the things that were
told him.
Did not weigh them as he might.
One other thing I want to say.
And it sums it all up.
Simon Peter was still but a babe in
Christ.
Imperfect.
Impetuous, ignorant of himself, imperfect.
He has almost come to the point where
our Lord is going to say farewell.
And he is but a babe, and he's
destined to ascend so highly in the scale
of service for his Lord.
Now that's the man we're talking about.
Now I want to turn from Simon, the
young believer.
And I want us to look for a
moment at Satan the tempter.
We shall not go very far on our
mission in life.
Ere we encounter the arch enemy of Christ
and his church astride our way.
And Jesus here very graciously forewarns his followers
of Satan's pending move.
And he thereby discloses something of the inevitable
struggle.
Albeit invisible at this particular point in time.
The invisible struggle that is going on between
Satan and God.
And all related to the souls and the
well-being of this little band of people.
The invisible struggle.
The inevitable struggle.
Between evil on the one hand, championed by
Satan.
And the good and the perfect will of
God.
Now three things I want to say about
Satan the tempter.
Satan's intention concerning Christ's followers generally needs to
be noted here.
He has a plan for the whole band.
And of course he has a plan for
the whole church.
With evident solemnity.
He who was personally so cunningly tempted by
the same insidious foe.
As he was about to begin his public
ministry.
Now announces that his followers and prospective servants.
Can expect nothing less than what he had
to undergo.
As he met the enemy so must they.
Addressing Peter, Jesus said, Simon, Simon.
Notice, addressing him by his native name, his
original name.
And repeating it for solemnity.
Simon, Simon.
The whole Satan demanded to have you.
That he might sift you like wheat.
Verse twenty, thirty one, the RSV.
Now that word addressed to Peter, to Simon.
Speaks however of Satan's purpose for the whole
group.
Now we can easily gloss over this or
miss it.
Because you see Jesus is speaking, he's telling
Simon about it.
But actually the language is in the plural.
Now we need to notice this.
Can I give you another translation, it goes
like this.
It's not a common one but here it
is and I think it's quite good.
Simon, Simon, Satan has claimed the right to
put the loyalty of all of you through
the mill.
He's telling Simon about it, perhaps in the
hearing of the others.
But it's a truth about all of them.
Addressing him then in this solemn way, speaking
to him as Simon.
Jesus says that the followers of the Messiah
are going to meet Satan with his teeth
shown.
Snarling at them.
Satan the accuser, the opposer of the enemy,
the opposer of the people of Christ.
Satan is there waiting with his evil intentions.
And he's got something afoot which relates to
the whole group of the twelve especially.
Now this persistent dedication of Satan to evil.
Which marks his character and his conduct as
it is revealed in the Bible.
Is something which we need to take seriously.
When the Bible speaks of Satan, it isn't
because the Bible has some strange interest in
such characters.
Everything that the Bible tells us about the
evil one, about Satan, about the devil, is
with a view to our prophet.
This is not the theme of the Bible.
The theme of the Bible is God in
Christ.
But the moment you come on the side
of God and his Christ, you're going to
meet an enemy.
And blessed be the name of God.
He has told us something about the enemy.
Now here he is, the adversary, Satan.
Now one is here reminded very much of
the first chapter in the book of Job.
I don't know whether you are familiar with
it.
I hope you are or you will make
yourself familiar with this great chapter and this
great book of Job.
But you remember Job was a righteous man.
If you're a righteous man or a righteous
woman, the devil will not belong before he
has a knife in your back.
And so Satan comes to God and says,
Ha ha, doth Job fear God for naught?
Does Job serve and honor and respect his
God for nothing?
Not on your life, says Satan to the
Almighty.
It's for what he gets out of it.
You've built hedges around him, he says to
God.
And you've been good to him.
And look at the number of his camels
as well as of his children.
He's got a large family.
He's got large possessions.
He's got a marvelous estate.
Strike him.
Let me take his possessions away.
Let me deal with him.
Now I can't go into all the details.
But the point of the matter is this.
What he's saying is this.
He says, Job is more chaff than wheat.
Let me put him through my sieve and
you'll see what kind of a follower you've
got.
God who knows the heart of a man
better than Satan does.
He said, all right.
Within certain limits you can put even my
servant Job the righteous one through your sieve.
And you and I know the consequences of
that event.
We have something quite similar here.
You see the devil never really changes.
In principle he always does the same things.
He's got nothing new, no new card in
his pack.
And when once you've read the Bible you'll
never discover a strategy of Satan that is
not disclosed in Scripture.
It may appear to be different.
The only thing that makes it different is
your circumstances and mine.
His basic approach is always the same.
He's got nothing new.
Here he comes again.
It's the same business.
Ha, ha, ha.
You've got twelve disciples around you.
Have you?
Let me tell you they're more chaff than
wheat.
You let me put them into my sieve
and we'll see what happens.
You know there is so much common sense
in that, isn't there?
What's the use of having disciples who are
not, who have not proved themselves to be
loyal?
And this is where the devil is terribly
dangerous.
When there appears to be so much sense
in what he says.
It's a good thing that we should be
tested and tried.
Ah yes, but you see.
Satan's intention was not to try the disciples
so that they could get rid of the
chaff.
Satan's intention was to get rid of the
wheat and leave only the chaff for Christ.
It is right that we should be tested.
God tests us.
But God only tests us to get rid
of the chaff in us.
Satan would test us to get rid of
the wheat and leave nothing for God but
chaff.
Do you remember the words of that hymn?
Oh not for thee my baser part.
Do you remember how the writer of that
hymn speaks about walking and serving God with
a feeble body and a feeble mind so
that we have to go so slow when
we've spent all our energies on the swift
errands of the world and have given everything
we have to serve the world but only
a kind of a puffed out soul for
God.
You know that's what the devil wants.
Spend your energies on other things.
Use your time, use your talents, use everything
you've got.
Put your all into other things so that
you've only got a little bit of a
damn squib of a life to give to
your God.
And my friends that's what he wants with
you and with me today.
Satan's intended view for all of them but
now look.
Satan's intended concentration upon Simon Peter particularly.
Note well the devil didn't declare his case
completely.
He never does.
He didn't say everything that he had in
mind.
He made an appeal to the Almighty that
he should test all of them and according
to what we have before us he didn't
say that he had a special plan for
Simon Peter.
But our Lord knew.
Our Lord knew.
Oh it's wonderful to have a Savior like
this.
He knows the secrets of the devil.
This is why you and I can feel
safe if Jesus Christ is our Savior.
He knows the devil's untold secrets.
He asked for them all but his eye
was on Peter particularly.
Now the question you will automatically ask I'm
sure is the I'm taking it that I'm
a normal person is the kind of question
that I was asking when I was meditating
on this the earlier part of the week.
Why should the devil have a special purpose
for Peter?
Or why should Satan have a special purpose
in attacking anybody for that matter?
There may be someone here this morning and
you're especially on his mind.
He's concentrating on you.
He's got a special plan for you.
He thinks more about you than about a
multitude of others.
He's got something in for you.
Why?
Can I mention two or three possibilities?
Sometimes it's because of a man's past glory.
Let me put it to you very simply
like this.
Do you remember that with all Simon Peter's
faults Simon was the confessor of Caesarea Philippi.
Simon was the first to receive from God
the Father the revelation he gave that Jesus
was Messiah, his only Son the Deliverer, the
Savior of men.
And Simon received it and Simon believed it
and Simon confessed it.
Now you see what's happened.
He's received this and he's confessed it and
he's become the first, the foundation member of
the new church.
Now you see wouldn't it be a marvelous
thing if the devil could cast a shadow
or a cloud over that man.
If only he can make Peter look a
little bit stupid and crazy a kind of
man that you can't trust, a kind of
man that you can't believe.
Wouldn't it be wonderful?
You see the number of people that he'll
be able to keep away from himself.
If only he can bring us, I mean
away from Christ.
If only, if only he can cast a
cloud over Simon's past glories.
There may be people here this morning in
that very situation.
God has used you.
Many years gone by now.
You stood as the teacher of a Bible
class.
You stood in the Christian pulpit.
You were the leader of men and God
used you and men listened to you and
men were blessed to you.
Oh my friend, wouldn't it be wonderful this
morning if he could get you down into
the dust and the ashes and the greater
your past glory, the greater his present victory
if only he can cast a shadow over
your word, your testimony, your preaching, your singing,
whatever it is.
He has a special purpose for this kind
of person.
Because of one's past glory.
It may be because of your present position
or usefulness.
Satan does not normally waste time on those
who do not threaten his kingdom.
Well of course this is common sense, isn't
it?
Why should he waste time on a multitude
of men and women in the church that
really do no harm as far as he's
concerned?
They don't attack his kingdom.
They don't really win any, any, any of
his prisoners and liberate them.
They're not really doing very much to worry
him at all.
He can let them go by.
He doesn't need to concentrate upon them.
So really they are not conscious of the
existence of a devil.
And they will not be and many will
die in that tragic condition.
They've never been alerted to the spiritual warfare.
For they've not menaced the situation and the
position of Satan sufficiently to arouse his ire.
But wait a moment.
Here is a man in a key position.
I won't try to describe it.
The only thing I want to say about
it is that it's a key position.
You influence man.
You influence people.
There are people watching you, looking at you.
You've got the ear of this person and
that person, this kind of person, this kind
of person.
And you stand day by day in a
strategic situation.
Oh, let me tell you, he's got something
afoot for you.
Or it may be, of course, because of
a man's potential use and value as a
future leader of the Christian church.
I don't know how far it is given
to Satan to see into the future.
I don't know.
I think he can see further than we
humans see, but how far I'm not sure.
He's not omniscient.
But my, he can see very far ahead.
And I'm not so sure that he couldn't
see what this man Peter could become.
If you let a man like this get
on, he's a potential, he's a natural leader.
He's got all the energies of a mighty
man, a mighty soul.
And when he's in his right mind, he's
going to put everything he has on the
altar for his Lord.
His intentions are always good.
And I've no doubt but that Satan could
see something of the menace that a man
like Peter would be to his cause, to
the cause of hell.
Therefore, he must concentrate on him.
Oh, my dear people, have you got gifts
by nature and by the Spirit of God,
spiritual gifts and natural gifts?
Have you seen them?
Are you aware this morning of your capacity
to lead men, to feed men, to direct
men?
Then don't be surprised if the devil is
concentrating upon you.
But the third thing I have to say
on this level is concerning the limitation of
Satan's power over saints universally.
He is interested in the saints generally, in
Simon particularly.
But I must note the limitation of his
power over saints universally.
Notice what Jesus discloses here.
Satan has, as the verb implies, obtained you,
he says, obtained you by asking.
He had to ask.
Satan has to ask before he can put
you or me in his city.
He's got to ask.
But says someone, do I hear it rightly?
I can almost hear someone say, but look
here, what's the point of saying that even
if the only thing he's got to do
is to ask and then God allows it
to happen?
Oh, much every way.
If God allows it to happen, then God
is not only aware of it.
And that's one thing that every tempest-tossed
Christian needs to know, that God is aware
of it.
No man is in Satan's sieve by accident.
Any man in Satan's sieve is there by
divine permission.
Now, something follows onto that.
If God allows a man to be placed
in Satan's sieve, then it must have the
capacity to do us the good he plans,
God plans, rather than the evil that Satan
purposes.
Oh, brethren and sisters in Christ, would that
we had the faith to believe this more
ardently this morning.
That when God permits a saint to be
put into the sieve of Satan, it is
not to give Satan what he pleases, but
to prove that he's wrong.
He makes the wrath of man and the
anger of Satan to praise him and to
bless him and to serve his purpose.
That's why he lets the saints go into
the sieve.
He'll bring good out of it.
Now, this is why the Apostle Paul, for
example, can go on record as saying something
like this.
Writing to the Corinthians, he says, No temptation
has overcome you that is not common to
man.
God is faithful.
And he will not let you to be
tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation
will also provide the way of escape that
you may be able to endure it.
Hallelujah.
Isn't that wonderful?
God will not allow you to be tempted
above that you're able to bear.
With the temptation he will provide a way
of escape so that you may be able
to endure it.
In other words, when he puts you into
the sieve, he puts you in for a
purpose of his own, which outmatches the strategy
of Satan.
Hallelujah.
So that he guards and guides and watches
and cares.
And he only turns the flame off when
he chooses, but when he sees that the
furnace is too hot, he'll turn the switch
off.
Let's turn for a moment this morning away
even from the feeble disciple.
And the enemy of our souls, the tempter,
let's turn to the last Jesus Christ our
Savior.
If the struggle here was confined to Simon
and Peter or the twelve disciples, on the
one hand and Satan on the other, Simon
Peter and the devil or the twelve disciples
and the devil, well, things would have been
pretty bad.
But let us mark a third party in
the battle, lest we become depressed and defeated
before we know what's happened to us.
You see, if we simply concentrate upon the
human dimension in relation to temptation, our human
dimension over against the evil one, we're lost
before we start it.
When we consider our temptations and our trials
as Christian people, we must see this other
dimension if we are to have any hope
at all.
And that is the presence and the promise
and the purpose of our blessed Savior.
Now, very briefly, the first thing I want
you to notice is that our Savior's awareness
of the spiritual battle that goes on behind
the scenes is made explicit.
Let me stress the basic fact that Jesus
Christ is familiar with a dimension of reality
unknown to us.
He is able to tell the disciples of
what's going on.
Simon, Simon, he says, Satan has desired to
have all of you to sift you as
wheat, but I've prayed for you.
That means this.
He is aware of a dimension of reality
unknown to us men.
Now, I know that the moment you say
that, there is a kind of mentality who
says, that's pitiful.
There can be nothing unknown to me.
This is part of our human pride.
And many, many people in the world this
morning are subject to this.
They can't conceive of anything in the whole
realm of human experience, here or there, present
or future, but that they must know it
or know about it.
Humanly speaking, you and I don't know anything
about this realm.
He did.
Now, this is involved in your acceptance of
Jesus Christ as the Son of God and
the Messiah.
He knows of a realm of dimension that
your scientists don't know about as scientists.
Your philosophers don't know about as philosophers, nor
your psychiatrists or psychologists as such.
No man knows but the Son of God.
And that's what we have here.
He knows of a dimension of reality and
of struggle that you and I are ignorant
about.
He knows it.
Now, I'm only stating it.
But let me add this.
If he knew of this dimension of existence
and of being in the days of his
humiliation, when he was here among men, living
as a man in the flesh, how much
more now that he is raised above principalities
and powers and sits in the heavenly places,
Lord of lords and King of kings, high
over all, as Peter puts it, far above
all rule and authority and power and dominion,
and above every name that is named, not
only in this age but also that which
is to come.
He who is above all surely knows now.
If he knew in the days of his
humiliation what was going on behind him.
Secondly, in this connection, the Savior's announcement to
his followers of Satan's feral purpose.
That Jesus Christ is aware of what's going
on is in itself most comforting since he
is our Savior and he's pledged to serve
us.
And it's good for me to know that
he knows, even if I don't know.
Put yourself in the place of the sheep
and the shepherd.
There are many things the sheep can't know.
But if they had the capacity to think,
I suppose they would say something like this.
Well, what we don't understand and what we
can't see, if he sees it's all right.
And I must say that about my Lord.
As one of his sheep.
If only I am sure that he knows.
And I can appeal.
But there is something more here.
His willingness and ability to announce some things
that he knows to his people.
Now our Lord does not tell us everything
that he knows.
He's omniscient.
And there's no need for him to tell
us everything that he knows.
We should never want to be omniscient.
Satan wanted that kind of thing and was
cast down into hell.
Even I must take our positions as creatures.
It is enough for us to know that
he knows.
Blessed be the name of God.
He has disclosed to us everything that he
deems wise so to disclose.
Everything that is necessary for our good.
Everything that is necessary for our safety.
And our ultimate glory.
He discloses and he's done it here.
Will you forgive me?
I have a picture here again from the
Old Testament.
And I see it reenacted here.
Do you remember that story?
Well it's a prolonged one really.
The stripling David coming to maturity.
Coming to the throne that has been promised
him.
But as yet Saul is on the throne.
I hope you remember this story and this
narrative.
It's so graphic and so meaningful.
And there is Saul still on the throne
of Israel.
And David has been chosen by God to
take his place.
And do you remember from time to time
Saul would get so terribly angry with David.
Because David was stealing the hearts of the
people away from him.
And at one time he would stab him
with a spear or a javelin.
At another time he would try to kill
him outright.
Not simply to hurt but kill.
And yet the precious thing is this.
David had a friend at court.
In Saul's court.
Who used to tell him what Saul was
planning.
And so it was most annoying.
There were times when dear old Saul wanted
to kill him but David knew about it.
How did he know?
Through Jonathan.
Jonathan his bosom friend.
Jonathan used to listen to his evil father.
And go out and tell his bosom friend
David.
My father Saul has a bad thing up
his sleeve today.
Keep your distance.
And David wasn't there.
Oh my friend it's wonderful to have a
friend.
Not in Satan's court.
Not in Satan's palace.
But one who nevertheless sees all that goes
on.
And knows everything that takes place.
And is able by his word and by
his spirit to communicate to his people.
And this is exactly what he does.
This is what the Bible is about.
This is what the spirit does for us.
If we walk in the light of the
word.
He gives us to understand the kind of
thing that Satan may be doing for us.
And even make us aware in our spirits
of things that are in the air at
a given moment.
And lastly this morning.
Our Savior's awareness of the power struggle behind
the scenes.
And his announcement of a pending attack is
no more precious than.
His accompanying assurances of safety.
As they were given to Simon Peter.
Just let's pause for a moment with this
verse.
Looking now directly into the face of Simon
Peter Jesus says.
But I have prayed for you.
That your faith should not fail.
And when you have turned again.
Strengthen your brethren.
Jesus would have Peter know that Satan's asking
permission to test him and his friends.
Is matched by Jesus' own high priestly intercession.
On the disciples behalf.
Satan has got you by asking just as
the Lord Jesus.
But I have prayed for you.
Opposite the pleading of Satan he puts his
own intercessions.
I prayed for you Peter.
Satan had to plead.
The language tells us that our intercessor needed
only to ask.
On the basis of such requests Jesus in
the full knowledge of Peter's trial.
And it's consequences now says to him.
Now Peter.
I prayed for you and when you are
converted strengthen your brethren.
Now we dare not miss what was involved
there.
I think this is one of the most
precious little bits in all the precious truth
we've been looking at this morning.
Jesus did not say I prayed for you
Peter you're going to have a bad time.
And if you get through it then I've
got a plan waiting you.
He didn't say that.
You know what he said?
And when thou art converted.
There's a task awaiting you and I'm commanding
you now to do it strengthen your brethren.
Not if you're converted but when.
Now I've got to look at that in
a little more detail.
There's a picture here.
Says the Lord in effect to Simon Peter
if language is what it appears to be.
Satan is going to make a special bid
for you and you're going to go a
long way along with him.
And you're going to turn along the main
highway of obedience and you're going to walk
up a side road.
And you're going to go right away from
the path of obedience.
But he said.
When you've turned around again that's what the
word conversion means.
When you've turned around.
No, no that's not what he said.
That would be wonderful in itself.
When you've been turned around again.
It's not something that you're going to do
yourself.
You know what the word conversion means?
Comes from a Latin which means turning around
with.
What the Savior is telling Simon is this.
Simon you're going to go up this strange
alley of disobedience as the devil tempts you.
But I'm coming with you.
And when thou art converted.
Passive.
When you have turned around again with the
person that is influencing you in the way
of God.
When you turn around again with me.
I've got a job waiting for you.
Well what is it?
To cry and to weep over my sins
and over my trials.
Well alright there will be a place for
penitence most certainly.
But beyond the penitence and beyond the tears
and beyond the fall and the sense of
sin and shame.
Strengthen your brethren.
I'm going to make you strong in the
very sin.
That Satan meant for your undoing.
Isn't it wonderful to have a Savior like
that?
And at this season of the year my
friends I don't know how you feel.
But I know how I feel.
I need to be reminded that there is
one of this order and of this dimension.
And of this grace and of this power
and of this quality of omniscience.
And who by the Spirit is able to
accompany me into any sieve where Satan may
place me.
So that all things may yet work together
for good.
To them that love him who are called
according to his purpose.
Where are you this morning my friend?
Are you sufficiently menacing to the enemy's position
that he should have an interest in you?
Am I speaking to someone who is this
morning being shaken in the sin?
They don't know where you are.
You're going around in circles perhaps.
And life is desperately miserable for you as
a Christian.
You don't know what things are coming to.
I want you to see the promise of
the Lord.
And the Lord of the promise.
Who has pledged and cannot fail.
When thou art converted.
There is a limit beyond which he will
not allow his called disciple to go.
He will turn him back again.
And when he's come out of the sieve
and out of the trial.
He will be able to be something that
he never could be apart from.
Ride on, ride on in majesty.
In our lives.
Let us pray.
O Heavenly Father.
And thou blessed Son.
And thou equally blessed Holy Spirit of God.
One God we worship thee.
Looking at this ancient scene.
It has made us so mindful of things
in our own lives.
Lord Jesus Christ thou faithful high priest of
thy people.
Thou great intercessor of the Father's right hand.
And thou who by the Spirit dost walk
with thine own.
Come near to us just now.
Lest we should be on the path of
disobedience.
That brings discredit to thee and dishonor to
thy cause.
And some of us may be there.
Tearing to pieces what we should build up.
Bringing dishonor where we should bring nothing but
honor.
And we are all out of control.
Because we've not seen the unseen hand of
Satan over our affairs.
Come almighty deliverer.
Save us from the meshes that were not
meant for us.
Use thine own word and spirit.
To take all the chaff out of us
nevertheless.
That we may be pure grain.
For thee.
We ask it in Jesus name.
Amen.