Sermon preached by John A. Huffman, Jr.
March 11, 2007
Copyright © 2007, John A. Huffman, Jr.
All rights reserved.
Peter said to him, "Though all become deserters because of you, I
will never desert you."
(Matthew 26:33)
Let me introduce you to two friends this morning.
My first friend is here with us, and I have asked her to share her personal testimony of her life and relationship to Jesus Christ. Her name is Leslie Pyle. Leslie, come on up here and share how God is working in your life.
About 4 ½ years ago, the Holy Spirit revealed himself in my life in a mighty and wonderfully exciting way.
I have always been a self-sufficient, capable, responsible person, created by God with these God-given qualities. I believed that if I was fair, honest, kind, and "handled" things that all would be well.
In the early 90s I went through a divorce and was suddenly responsible for supporting myself my daughters alone, sending them to college and basically keeping all the balls in the air. It was a very stressful, scary time for me and my armor was cracking. Suddenly I wasn't so capable anymore. I withdrew from spiritual growth and from church entirely. I felt a little like Job. For about 8-9 years, I had been living my life with no church, and no spiritual growth. Some of you have heard part of this story before.
So 4 ½ years ago I was visiting my sister on the East Coast and told her one evening that when I went back to church again, I would go to St. Andrew's. I had stopped here once or twice in the 8-9 year period, and I had liked the church and John's messages.
Within 48 hours of that conversation with her, I flew home--and who got on the plane in Chicago on a Saturday afternoon and sat next to me but John Huffman. And I remember thinking, "How did the Holy Spirit pull this one off?!" I told John the story of what I had just said to my sister, and he made sure I knew that it was NO accident. And we had a nice conversation about St, Andrew's and what it means to be involved, to be truly involved in service.
So you don't need to guess where I was the next morning. I was right here! I had been invited by John Huffman AND the Holy Spirit. Isn't that awesome!
After church, I was talking with a neighbor who said she was so glad to see me at church. I told her that it was such a big church that I didn't know where to begin and that I didn't know what God wanted me to do! She encouraged me to take part in the Discovery Experience that was going to happen in 2 weeks. She said that it would not only give me the opportunity to meet other people and get connected, but it would teach me a lot about myself and what God might have in mind for me. And clearly, the Holy Spirit was moving in my life.
At Discovery, I learned that I have the Spiritual Gift of Leadership and the Gift of Administration, and neither were a surprise. But I also discovered that I have the Gift of Faith. That "warmed" me - that although I hadn't been part of a church for so many years, that Faith was still very big in my life. But I was also reminded at the Discovery Experience that one of the cautions that goes along with the Gift of Faith is that just having it and feeling good about it isn't the point--I need to ACT on my Faith. Recently John and Jim have both told us to be clear about who or what our Faith was IN--my own ability OR God's promise to me.
The 3rd component of Discovery was to find out what my Passion was--What did I feel compelled to do? Where could I serve using my Spiritual Gifts for His glory and with joy and enthusiasm?
At the end of Discovery Experience, I met with my Discovery coach (the next step)--to brainstorm about putting this all together and to discover where I might serve. I just couldn't come up with an answer.
The Holy Spirit didn't let that inertia go for long. Several weeks later I got a phone call from someone I hadn't heard from or spoken with for 10 years, and out of that conversation I discovered my Passion for service. I wanted to do something to help this big church be more welcoming to newcomers. I called my Discovery coach, all excited and said, "Betsy, I know what I want to do!".She pointed out to me again that Holy Spirit was leading me and here was another example. She told me there was going to be a Barnabas in 2 weeks and the exact subject for them to brainstorm is "How to Make St. Andrew's a More Welcoming Church." I couldn't believe the timing of it--it was right there ready to happen at the same time when I said I needed it.
Here was a room full of over 100 people ALL with the same thing in mind--and from that room came the beginnings of the Welcome Center and now I am on the Team--and loving it. I am working with Lay Ministry and the Discovery Experience.
The Holy Spirit has been leading me, nudging me, walking along side of me all along--but now I am yielding to it. Its been a process--His process. So when friends say, "What's different about you?"--I tell them I have given up the power, the control. It isn't mine anyway. Oh it's still a day-to-day struggle--I keep pulling it back. Tug of war with God. But now I am aware of it.
He is leading me to serve, and He is making it easy. I never feel overcommitted because I am doing what my spiritual gifts were given to me for. My work has always allowed me to have the time I have need for the commitments I have made. He has a far better plan for me than I could ever have for myself.
He showed His presence in my life in a MIGHTY way, and it's now clear to me that all I need to do is listen and follow.
Thank you, Leslie! How helpful you have been!
Let me introduce to you a second friend. He can't be here personally, but I would like you to know a little bit about him. He's a fairly recent convert to Christ. He is a businessman. In fact, he is so enthusiastic about his new found faith, that he's left his work to go into the ministry. What a sacrifice he's made to follow and serve Christ.
My friend has an interesting problem. There is only one person in the world he trusts. That's himself. He has two former business associates. He won't take any counsel from them. He doesn't believe that they are disciplined enough Christians. No matter how much they profess to be Christ's followers, he is convinced that under pressure they may fail their Lord. He doesn't believe that they are able to deliver the goods. It was his own brother who led him to Christ. Yet he has more confidence in himself than in his brother.
My friend is a fascinating person. I'd like to be able to share his name with you, but I am afraid you might recognize him. That might be a betrayal of pastoral confidence. Or would it? I'm not really certain that it would be. Well, I'll take the risk and let his name slip. I know you know him. His name is Peter. Today we call him the Apostle Peter.
No, he wouldn't trust his own two business colleagues, James and John. He wouldn't trust his own brother, Andrew, when Jesus said that night of His betrayal, . . . "'You will all become deserters 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 ahead of you to Galilee'" (Matthew 26:31-32).
Reading the words and thoughts of Jesus, Peter made a self-judgment combined with an analysis of the other disciples and made this statement of ultimate overconfidence: "'Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you'" (Matthew 26:33).
Peter--another of the persons we look at at Calvary during this Lenten series. Peter--the overconfident person.
I
What does this say about Peter? Well, I think it says that Peter would do well in Newport Beach.
He has mastered positive thinking. He is a creative "possibility thinker." He is the kind of man you want in your business. He has all of the driving characteristics of one who ends up as the chief executive officer. Isn't that what it takes to be successful in Southern California? You need a lot of natural ability, combined with drive and self-confidence. Peter had that combination. He trusted his intuitions. Others might fail. He wouldn't. He had the components of the self-made man. He really believed in himself.
Dale Carnegie would have loved Peter. Not only was he capable of the strong self-confident statement, but he was also a man of action. We see later that night, when Jesus was betrayed by Judas into the hands of the authorities, that the other disciples fled. Peter, very much aware of his recent promise to Jesus, stood by his Master's side, pulled out the sword and began to swing away. Then, when his endeavor to use power failed, he followed the captured Jesus, determined to stay close to his Lord. He walked into the lion's den, that courtyard of the high priest, Caiaphas. He was no coward. Others might fail Jesus. Not Peter.
Ironically, his fellow biblical writers disagreed with his overconfidence. As inspired by the Holy Spirit, they didn't share Peter's view of human nature. One of them, in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, wrote these words: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).
Another of his colleagues, named Paul, wrote these words: "So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall" (1 Corinthians10:12). It was this same Paul who said, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). How many sermons on that text have emphasized what you as a human being can accomplish. How inspirational it is. We forget that the key phrase is, ". . . through him who strengthens me." And we neglect the context of this positive statement. Paul had just related that he had learned how to be abased and how to abound. In every situation he had learned to be content. It wasn't an overconfident declaration. It was a humble acknowledgement that God was sufficient and would give strength for every life situation. It was the expresssion of humble trust in Jesus Christ.
II
Peter was out of step with the rest of biblical teaching. He had a positive view of what he could accomplish. Why were the rest of these authors so out of date with what sells today? The reason for the discrepancy is at least threefold.
First, God knows that overconfidence plugs our ears to learning.
It is important to be self-confident, to trust ones abilities, to have a healthy self-esteem. However, overconfidence can make you less open to learn. We are all familiar with the "know-it-all" student.
I had a history professor in college who urged some of us to go on in doctoral studies. Some of us whom he encouraged the most had more modest intellectual gifts than the more brilliant students in the class. We asked him why he urged us to go on. He said, "The best PhD candidates are not always the smartest people in the class. You will often find that a person with the highest IQ is used to getting the very best grades. When they come to some academic failure where they don't get the A+, they are not as able to handle that attrition as the one who is less self-confident, but is a good hard worker. Give me a good, solid B student any day. Often he is the kind of person who has the stick-to-itiveness to handle the research necessary on the long haul, to aspire and ultimately accomplish his doctorate, and then to make the long-haul, scholarly contribution."
I don't know whether that's necessarily the case. We do know that we can't stand the know-it-all child, don't we? I know an overconfident young man who, as a student in the classroom, always has the answers. He thinks he knows more than the teacher does. We had some fellows in seminary who would argue with the teacher. They always knew better than anybody else. God knows that the overconfident person has his ears plugged to learning.
Peter was a know-it-all. Peter was convinced that all these others might fail the Lord, but he wouldn't. "I couldn't possibly fail you. After all, I'm Peter. I'm Rock Man."
In one church I served, there was a pathetic woman. Pathetic because she was so accomplished. Pathetic because she had all the answers. Week after week, she would write me judgmental notes. My preaching was inferior. My theology was not good enough. My articulation was not clear. She had mastered the art of writing critiques. She could analyze me, my fellow staff members and the lay leaders. On a couple of occasions, I had to sit down with her and initiate some difficult pastoral oversight. I saw some attitudes in her life that were destroying her husband, driving him deeper and deeper into his drinking problem. Far from helping him, her critical, self-confident attitude was making things impossible for him. I'm not meaning to release him from his responsibility. Please don't go out of here today and say, "My wife is driving me to drink. That's OK. The minister said so. It's her fault, not mine." No, that's your problem. You have to deal with that. That was his problem. But those of us in the church's leadership could see that although he had a natural weakness in that area, the way she was treating him was pushing him deeper into his problem. She treated her children with the same superior attitude. She refused to take guidance. She resisted any counsel, any help from others. She had all the answers. She knew how to do things the best way. A divorce resulted. She has been married to two more husbands and is divorced from both of them. Why? Among other reasons, she was not teachable, she was overconfident. She had all the answers. Her ears were plugged to learning.
Second, God knows that overconfidence causes us to throw away opportunities for preparation.
That's what happens to the football team that has an undefeated season and then is knocked off in the bowl game. They take victory for granted. We've seen it happen time after time in athletics.
It happened to me one night at a wedding. I like to share some personal words with each couple I marry. I do it in the middle of the ceremony, just before the vows. On many other occasions, I had spoken similar words. On this occasion, I arrived at the last minute and didn't take the time to sit down and review my thoughts. I thought I could "wing it." I announced that I wanted to share four simple words of counsel with the couple. The first two were straightforward, adequately articulated, and appeared to be well received by the couple and the congregation. Then I moved on to my last two points and totally forgot what they were. I wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't announced that I had four comments to share. I blundered around, trying to make up a third point real fast. It wasn't the one that I intended it to be. And, finally, I had to admit that I couldn't remember my fourth point.
When you get everconfident, when you become extra familiar with your ability, you begin to take the preparation for granted. You take some short cuts. That's exactly what Peter did. He neglected that humble reliance on the Lord in which God daily disciplines to faithfulness. He would do it in his own strength, untutored.
Third, God knows that overconfidence opens the door to failure.
See Peter now. There he is in the Garden of Gethsemane, sound asleep. Jesus, very God, very man, didn't take the easy way out. In His steadfast resolution to obey the will of God, He knew He had to be buttressed by prayer. How He wanted to avoid the cross. Everything in His humanity cried out to run away. He knew His weakness. He needed God's strength, God's equipment for the task. So He prayed while Peter and his colleagues slept. The one who, just hours before had pledged that if everybody else failed, if all the others were to desert Jesus, he would never fail. He sets himself up for failure. At the very moment he should have been equipping himself for the tremendous ordeal that was ahead, he went to sleep! That's the difference between Jesus' accomplishment in that hour of need and Peter's failure.
Remember the fable about the frog? It was getting cold in the autumn and Mr. Frog saw the geese flying south. He figured that the chill of the autumn days would be getting even chillier. Wouldn't it be great to go south like the geese? One day when two geese were resting alongside his pond, he said to them, "I'd like to fly south with you." And they said, "Well, if you figure out a way we can get you south, we'd be happy to take you." So he thought about it a while. He scurried away and a few minutes later he came back with a very strong piece of cord. He said, "Now, if one of you holds this end in your beak and the other holds this end in yours, I'll simply hold on in the middle with my mouth and then I can fly south with you." So they took the ends of the cord in their beaks, and the frog grabbed on in the middle with his mouth, and off they took southward. Already he could feel the warming air, the winds were a bit more mellow as they flew south. And after having flown a few hours and having taken a rest and gotten hooked up again, they were flying low over a farmyard. A cow looked up. She saw them going over and was absolutely amazed. She asked, "Whose idea was that?" In that moment of overconfidence, the frog said, "It was mine!" and ended up being a little splat on the ground at the cow's feet.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, is known for its ice storms. During the middle 1960s I was associate pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. Anne was teaching school. Around 4:30 in the afternoon she phoned, telling me how treacherous the roads were. She warned me to be especially careful driving into our apartment's hillside parking lot. With great bravado I let her know that I had been raised in New England and was very familiar with ice and snow driving conditions. I haughtily thanked her for her call and by my tone of voice let her know my irritation that she would even think I needed her advice. About 45 minutes later I came around the corner leading into the parking lot. She was out walking our dog. The minute she spotted me she started waving frantically, reminding me to be careful. I arrogantly tilted my chin upward, communicating nonverbally that I didn't need her help and drove successfully up into the parking lot. Just as I began to turn right into the parking space, the car chose to slide left, down the hill. My Chevrolet smashed into her VW. Try to collect insurance when you have wrecked your own two cars in one accident. Try to explain away your overconfidence to a wife who knows she ought to feel badly for the financial cost but is thoroughly enjoying seeing her husband's overconfidence humbled.
Overconfidence plugs our ears to learning. It causes us to throw away opportunities for preparation and opens the door to failure.
III
Peter found that out. Overconfidently promising faithfulness, wielding the sword, following Jesus into the courtyard of Caiaphas, he confronted his three moments of truth. He makes his downward spiral. You'd have thought that the warning of Jesus would have gotten through when He had said, "'Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times'" (Matthew 26:34). You'd have thought that Peter would have remembered his response to that warning, "' Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you'" (Matthew 26:35). You would think that being awakened by Jesus from his slumber with the words, "'. . . Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak'" (Matthew 26:41), would have muted his overconfidence.
See Peter now, sitting outside in the courtyard of the house of Caiaphas. A maidservant marked Peter as one of the most prominent followers of Jesus. She recognized him. He denied it, saying, "'I do not know what you are talking about'" (Matthew 26:70).
A coward would have fled. Not Peter. He did retire from the open courtyard at the center of the house to the porch. Again he was recognized. Another maid saw him and said to the bystanders, "'This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.'" (Matthew 26:71). He swore with an oath, "'I do not know the man.'" (Matthew 26:72).
This second denial had given him away. From his speech, it was clear that he was a Galilean. Galileans spoke with a burr, an accent so ugly that Galileans were not allowed to pronounce the benediction at a synagogue. A bystander said, "'Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you'" (Matthew 26:73). And Peter, cornered, curses the name of Jesus, swearing "'I do not know the man!'"
You know what follows. Immediately, the cock crowed. Perhaps it was the actual voice of a bird. Perhaps it was the hour of 3 a.m., which was called "the cock crow," the hour at which the Roman guard was changed at the castle of Antonia, signaled by a trumpet call. Peter sees Jesus turn and look at him. Peter's memory is triggered by that probing glance from his Lord. He thinks back to those words of Jesus when He said that before the cock crows you will deny me three times. Each of the synoptic writers writes what could have been the final statement, "And he went out and wept bitterly."
IV
However, these are not the final words. More words are added. The overconfident person has turned coward. But the coward has been rebuked by that loving, probing glance from Jesus in a way in which he becomes humbled into a new courage. He flees from the house of Caiaphas, but not for his life. He flees in despair. He flees in embarrassment. He flees with a broken heart that he has betrayed his Lord. But fortunately his Lord has not given up on Peter.
The scene changes. It is now the first day of the week. Jesus has risen from the grave. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome, who had brought the spices to annoint the body of Jesus, see the empty tomb. They see an angel, sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe. The angel tells them not to be amazed. He announces the resurrection. He shows them the place where Jesus had been laid. Then he says, "'But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you'" (Mark 16:7).
What an exciting message! A few weeks from now the thrill of it will be in the very resurrection of Jesus Christ. For our purpose today, the excitement to me comes in the fact that the angel specifies the parenthetical comment "and tell Peter, too." Jesus had seen the tears. Jesus had felt the remorse. Jesus had given a glance of love. He wasn't about to cut Peter off. Jesus knew Peter, and knew that he probably felt so badly about himself that he wasn't even sure that he could anymore be counted among the disciples.
From overconfidence to cowardice to humble courage. That's the rhythm of life to which God calls you and me. Peter was humble enough to trust the Lord. He was humble enough to ask for forgiveness. He was humble enough to allow the story of his disgrace to be included in the Bible. And do you know what? Years later, he added his own words to the wisdom literature and the words of Paul. No longer was he the proud, arrogant person who could look down on his colleagues and in self pride say, "'Though they all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.'" Writing to a group of believers going through great persecution, he shares these words:
. . .And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. (I Peter 5:5-6)
Let us not come to Calvary overconfident in our own power to be faithful or avoid the cross in a cowardice that registers our unfaithfulness. Instead, may ours be that humble courage that daily depends upon the Lord for just enough strength to live one day at a time.