You Can't Do it Alone

Dustin Alley

Recalculating • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

Matthew 26:69–75

Matthew 26:30–35

Character

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PRAY

Introduction

Happy Birthday to Jayla and Addyson

Thank you all for coming back out.

We are going to be in Matthew 26 this morning looking at two different sets of passages that all tell the same story.

Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and is also known as 1 of the 4 gospels. The first four books of the NT that tell the life of Christ.

We are in the second of three messages in our series “Recalculating:When God changes your plans” and today I want to present to you the concept that “you can’t do it alone.”

Whether we are going through life and everything is fine or we are going through a crisis, we can’t do it alone.

In our passages today we are going to look at a disciple who decided he could do it alone. He believed he was better than others and thought much of himself. Only to have revealed to him in a crisis that he was not the man he thought he was.

I’d like for you to consider today your own thoughts toward yourself and how you handle life in a crisis. How do you respond when God changes your plans? Have you discovered who you are on your own and who you are with Christ?

Follow along as I read

Matthew 26:30-35

Matthew 26:30–35 KJV 1900

30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. 31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. 32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. 33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. 34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Matthew 26:69-75

Matthew 26:69–75 KJV 1900

69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

PRAY

Notice first with me the disciple’s proclomation

I. The Disciple’s Proclamation

Peter proclaims his faith and strength compared to those around him in response to the The Lord’s declaration

A. The Lord’s Declaration

Here we are within hours of our Lord’s crucifixion and He looks out on the group of men that had devoted themselves to Him for 3.5 years and tells them “All of you will be offended because of me...”Now that doesn’t just mean offended as we may mean it. Here Jesus is telling them that because of Him they will fall away from their faith for a little while. Because of what is about to happen to Him they will doubt, they will scatter.

Can you put yourself in their shoes for a moment. The man they had looked to to be their leader, their Savior, their Messiah just told them you will lose hope.

What if your mentor came to you said that? I believe your response would be just like Peter’s that we will see in a moment but there is something important to remember about this mentor, about this Leader, this is God in the flesh.

Jesus is the Son of God and the words that proceed out of His mouth are the Words of God. So when He says something will happen…He means it.

When God describes us in His Word, and who we are as human beings, it is not in the most glamorous light.

There are philosophies today that center in humanism. The belief that the human being is the pinnacle of all things and is inheriently good. It also has within it the thoughts of relative morality.

Relative morality demonstrated is when a person believes Hitler was right about the Holocaust because he believed he was right.

Humanism says we determine what is right and wrong and the ultimate rulers of the universe.

Christianity says “God is the highest Entity. He is perfect in wisdom, power, might, and love. He created us. He is to be worshipped. We love Him because He first loved us.”

So when God said in

Jeremiah 17:9

Jeremiah 17:9 KJV 1900

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

He means it.

In Revelations Jesus says to the church at Laodecia, which is used often as an allegorical description of Christianity today,

Rev 3:17

Revelation 3:17 KJV 1900

17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

We believe we are great and Jesus says…no…no you are wretched, means miserable, you are poor, you are blind, you are naked.

We believed we have all of these great and amazing qualities about ourselves and have no need of Christ but we do. We were not made to do this alone.

Jesus went on to say

Rev 3:18

Revelation 3:18 KJV 1900

18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Where do we get the riches we think we have? Where do we get the qualities and traits we think we have?

They come from Christ.

The Lord made a declaration to the disciples that they would fall away but Peter was determined to be different.

Notice Peter’s determination in v33 and 35

B. Peter’s Determination

Matthew 26:33, 35

Matthew 26:33 KJV 1900

33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Matthew 26:35 KJV 1900

35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Do you hear the pride in his voice? “They may fall away but I will never do such a thing”

Many of you have had job interviews and been asked the famous question we all hate to answer “What is your greatest weakness?”

It’s common to find interview strategies online that seek to tell you how to answer this question in such a way that you turn your weakness into a strength.

Here are a some good and bad examples of how you can do that

Good Example: “I can be overly critical of myself and my work.” Bad Example: “When I was in first grade, a classmate made fun of a story I wrote. That’s where it all started, and it’s really snowballed from there. Throughout high school, college and in my everyday life, I tend to view the work I do and myself as a whole negatively.”

Good Example: “At a former internship, I realized that my weakness was weighing me down because I spent so much of my time critiquing my work. So I’ve learned to put things aside once I’ve felt I’ve put adequate time into it and not be so hard on myself.”

Bad Example: “Since I am so critical of myself, I take that much longer to review my work painstakingly and therefore tend to miss deadlines.”

Good Example: “But because I am at times very critical of my work, I have also realized how meticulous I am. This proves that I will be very attentive and careful toward the work that I do, so you can be sure that there will be little correction needed.”

Very Bad Example: “I am, however, working through it with a therapist I see on a weekly basis.”

Now there is nothing wrong with seeing a therapaist…it’s just not something you want to discuss with your potential employer the first time you meet them.

Now why do we do this? Why do we feel as though we have to spin these weaknesses into qualities?

To impress people? To hide behind them as excuses?

Peter wouldn’t accept this weakness that was pointed out to him and in prideful defiance of the Lord, of the Word of God, he declared “I will not...”

When the word of God declares something, it would be best for us to accept and obey it.

When we are commanded to love and respect our spouse, we should. When we are told not to provoke our children to anger, we shouldn’t. When we are called to be Holy, which means to be separate from the world, we should. When we are told to go out and tell others about Jesus, we should.

In this moment Peter is very full of himself. And that is what will keep us from being able to navigate this life in a God honoring way. It is self that keeps us from serving Him, it’s self that keeps us from loving others, it’s self that leads us to neglect and try it on our own.

So here is Peter, telling the Lord He is wrong and that he would follow Him to death and never deny Him. Let’s see the Disciple’s performance.

II. The Disciple’s Performance

Look over at verses 69-75 again

Matthew 26:69-75

Matthew 26:69–75 KJV 1900

Peter did not scatter as Christ told Him He should do, he instead went with John and watch things transpire. During this time he is questioned about his relationship with Jesus. This is his external crisis.

A. An External Crisis

While it could be said that Peter put himself in this position I also believe that we can see the situation as one that he would not have chosen for himself.

Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. His own people and the romans have turned on Jesus, his master and teacher. They are now saying he is associated with Him.

The thoughts he must’ve had. He may have thought “If they know I’m with Him, will they crucify me too? Will they stone me?”

I believe fear gripped the heart of Peter in this moment.

Fear came over Him as external pressures and events that he would have rather not went through gripped His heart and because he was trying to go through this on his own…he failed.

Whether it’s the coronavirus or some other external crisis that is out of your control, it’s easy for us to turn into Peter. It’s easy for us to allow fear to creep in overtake us when we are relying only on ourselves.

I read an article recently by Carey Neighwoulf that said “Crisis Reveals Character.”

It’s in these moments that we find out who we really are. It’s in these moments of testing that our character is revealed.

Character is revealed in crisis…some aspects of your Character can be affected or changed by a crisis but your character is not something that is developed in these big moments…it’s developed in the nuance of every day life and the decisions you make.

When we experience an external Crisis, we will also face internal conflict.

B. Internal Conflict

That internal conflict can manifest itself as stress, anxiety, irritability, and worry.

We have to determine within ourselves how we will proceed. Will you bear up underneath it and walk on your own or will you reach for the hand of the one who said He would never leave you nor forsake you?

That’s what I would like to present to you today is Christian Character.

That type of Character isn’t conjured up by just pulling up your bootstraps and moving forward. Although I believe you should do that, I also believe before you stand back up from tightening the bootstraps you should drop to your knees and seek the Lord. Then on your way back up, grab your Bible and go through the trial with the Lord.

You see Christian Character isn’t found within ourselves…it is found in our reliance on Christ. If you wait for the crisis to come to rely on Christ, it will be more difficult.

Let me use sports as a means of explaining this.

No matter what your sport is, baseball, basketball, football, soccer. In practice and training you are told what? Practice like you play, give it your all, Perfect practice makes perfect.

During practice and training though you may run with a weighted vest, you may swing a bat with weight, you may wear a mask to restrict airflow, you will most likely do something to make it more difficult on you than it would be during a real game.

Why? So when the game comes, when the crisis comes, you will be well prepared to go through it.

OK, let’s apply the same principles to our Christian life. If you are walking with the Lord, and I mean studying your Bible, spending time in prayer, and serving Him daily, then when the Crisis comes, you will be prepared to go through it with Him because you have been relying on Him all the time.

Peter had literally walked with the Lord for years but in these moments of Crisis, he forgot who Jesus was and allow feared to overcome faith.

As New Testament beleivers we can’t rely on Christ, unless we know Christ. We can’t know Christ unless we make the effort to know Him.

Through this Crisis Peter discovered who Christ really was. Remember this man that literally denied Jesus in a crisis, was also the one that God used to preach a message at Pentacost that lead to 3,000 people being saved.

Conclusion

Let me ask you…what Crisis are you going through? The effects of the cornoavirus are more than people just getting sick. Are your finances hurting? Is your home life become more like a warzone because of frustrations? Are relationships being strained? Is your future uncertain?

How are you handling it? Are you relying on your own character or are you seeking to have Christian Character?

God changes plans through a crisis. Our response can reveal who we really are. Once we know and accept who we are without Christ, then we will better understand our need for Christ.

An external Crisis can lead to an internal conflict that is only resolved w/a reliance on Christ.

How do you respond when God changes your plans? Have you discovered who you are on your own and who you are with Christ?

This is why the gospel is so important. God knows who we are without Him. That’s why He sent Jesus, so that we could have Him. Jesus came so that we may have a more abundant life.

He said He is the way the truth and the life. He is the life. Are you living your life for and with Christ?

TIME OF RESPONSE

Are you hear today and don’t know Jesus at all? You’ve never heard some of the things I spoke about this morning. You’ve been unclear as to what it meant to “be saved.”

John 3:16 KJV 1900

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

The gospel is the death burial and resurrection of Christ.

Christ came so that you could be saved. Because as you can’t go through a crisis alone, you can’t go to Heaven on your own.

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Rom 10:9,13

Romans 10:9 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:13 KJV 1900

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Christians, have you been walking with the Lord? Have you been relying on Him?

If your here this morning and want to trust Jesus as your savior I want you to know that’s very easy. If you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins, was buried in a tomb, and rose from the dead, then you are saved.

You see, one Pastor put it this way, “Salvation is not something you achieve, it is something you believe.”

If you just made the decision to trust Jesus as your Savior I want you to help you confirm that with a prayer.

The words of the prayer mean nothing but what you believe in your heart means everything.

“Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner, I believe you came to die on the cross and rose from the dead. I put my faith right now in you and ask you to come into my life and change me from the inside out. Amen.”

PRAY

If you made that decision this morning I want you to make sure you fill out that form on lbcbristol.org/drivein or send us an email at info@lbcbristol.org. I have a gift I want to send you. I want to rejoice in your decision with you. I want to pray for you. I want to talk to you about the next step of faith you can take to deepen your relationship with Jesus.

At this time I want to thank you again for coming out. Our worship team is making their way back out to play and sing a closing chorus and while they sing I’d like to ask you to give your attention to the parking team that has vests on for direction to leave.

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