Sunday Message - Today Jesus 139

10/02/08
<Matthew 26:31-35; Luke 22:31-38, 54-62>
YOU WILL ALL FALL AWAY ON ACCOUNT OF ME
• At the last supper, Jesus Christ told His disciples that the Son of Man would be caught, betrayed
and killed. When the disciples heard that, they were willing to suffer and die with the Lord.
However, on the night that the Lord was captured, all the disciples ran away
• Today, we will examine the great disciple, Peter, He is a representative of many believers. There
are areas of our lives which resemble his
• Peter’s confession to Jesus Christ was fulfilled in his whole life. We are like Peter, who often say
that we are the main characters of this era, we want to become a blessing to our family members,
etc. However, we are often weak, fall down and are oppressed by our worries and hurts
• Before we fall, the Lord has already interceded for us. Before we fall, the Lord has already
prepared a safety net for us, so that after we fell, we can still stand up again
• When we think about God’s words, when we are matured, we will become witnesses of the Lord
• We must all receive assurance regardless of what our present condition is. Even though we are
lukewarm now, we are still “Peter”, we still have a blessed life

Read <Matthew 26:31-35>

• v26 We will often fall down in the course of our life
• v33 Peter was someone who strived to excel and often compared himself with others. Jesus
Christ did not let him remain so. The Lord wanted to mould his life
• v35 Peter was also very influential. Many times when important things happen in church, the
congregation will start to compare
Read <Luke 22:31-38, 54-62>
• v31 Jesus Christ knew them very well
• v32 This sentence is the most important
• v35 <Matthew 10> Jesus Christ sent out His disciples and told them not to bring anything
• v36 There is spiritual meaning in this sentence. That was the time when the bridegroom would
leave them and it was time for battle. They have to bring their “swords” to fight the spiritual battle
• What is our road to heaven like?

1. Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

1) “Peter”, who was called and blessed
• Paul is a very contradictory and impulsive person. But he was blessed
• When the Lord looked for Peter, he was willing to give up everything to follow the Lord.
Among the disciples, Peter was the closest to the Lord. He also saw the most miracles
• After Jesus Christ resurrected, He strengthened Paul before going to heaven. After that,
when Paul stood up to testify, 3,000 people converted
• Peter was a very ordinary fisherman. He strived very hard to excel but he was also very
inferior
• He often wanted to get the Lord’s attention
• Among believers, there are many people like Peter. Many of them grew up in church.
However, they see themselves as failures. They cannot become lively. Therefore, they
often compare themselves with others. These characteristics come from Peter
• Actually, we are all outstanding youths. However, we are often inferior
• There are also many believers who like to boast about themselves, like Peter
 • One day, I understood. In the whole history, the people whom the Lord used were those
who had experienced failure and had been weak. E.g. Abraham, Moses, David etc
• There are some things which we will hide from others. However, God wants to use these
things that we have hidden
• We would be able to see through everything when the tremendous grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ come upon us, and when the Holy Spirit dwells in us

2) True confession of faith = “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
• We often pray to God and tell Him that we will follow Him in our entire lifetime
• Therefore, when we read the story of Peter, we know that Peter was absolutely blessed
• Peter spoke the truth when he told the Lord that he would follow Him. He fished the whole
night but could not catch any fish, and he started to worry. The next day, the Lord came to
look for him and led him to catch many fish. Peter’s first words were “Go away from me,
Lord; I am a sinful man!”
• We are often like that too. In our sufferings, we will often grumble to God
• Peter understood that God’s great love for him had nothing to do with his conditions.
Therefore, after he had seen this, fish has no value to him
• <Isaiah> “Every mouth speaks vileness!”/ “Your tongue mutters wicked things”, because
he saw the glory of the heavens
• Peter denied God under extreme pressure. Therefore, his denial was false. Otherwise, he
would not be in such suffering
• <Matthew 16:16> Peter said, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” We also
have ever proclaimed this. We know that in all our problems, there is the prophet’s perfect
will, the compassion of the priest and the victory of the king. Therefore, we know that
Jesus Christ has already solved all our problems. Have we ever proclaimed so?
• Man’s problem is they cannot see God. Therefore, Jesus Christ came into this world so
that we can see everything
• We confessed because we have ever truly seen God
• Jesus Christ told Peter, “You are blessed. On you and on this rock, I will build my
church.” Jesus Christ also truly blessed Peter

3) His confession of faith was all fulfilled in the end

• Peter’s confession was spoken in truth. Many subjective things happened in Peter’s life.
However, nothing can deny the confession he made.
• Every week when we confess the “apostle’s creed”, it is being fulfilled
• Through our lives, our families, region and environment will be changed. It is because this
is the truth
• What we believe in will be fulfilled. What Peter said, that he would die with Christ, was
also fulfilled. Peter died on the cross, upside down
• The message that our church continues to preach is: 4 Gospelization (individual, family,
region, world) which will cause thousands of people to live again
• We have preached this message since our church first started. At that time, many people
did not understand. However, we continued to preach. This is because this is what God
wants to fulfill
• This is the foundation of our church. Foundation will not be changed because of our
problems. Therefore, all that we have confessed to God will be fulfilled.
• Since what Peter had confessed was the truth, his 3 denials of God awaited him
 4) Notwithstanding, the necessary test still awaited him = Jesus Christ’s discipleship training
• Peter is like us, who fall down many times. We are the body of Jesus Christ. This means
to say that Jesus Christ lives in our family, our company, and in our interpersonal
relationships
• The trials, persecutions and temptations of the flesh that Jesus Christ experienced will
also be experienced by us. This is because we are the body of Christ
• When we look at the attraction of this world, we will fall. This is the cross of the Lord. We
all must carry our own cross. We will experience problems which others do not
experience
• Our cross is not meant to make us suffer but is used to glory the Lord
• We must know that the Lord lives in us and what the cross He has given us. This is to
say, we must know how we can glorify God
• Those who have truly received the Lord’s cross will understand which are the areas they
can glorify God. It could be our illness, it could also be our unfavorable conditions
• We have confessed to the Lord before, “Lord, I am willing to follow you for my entire life”.
After we have confessed this, things that cause us to deny God will await us
• We rely on the Holy Spirit when we confess to God, and not rely on our flesh and blood.
We may have forgotten what we had confessed before. But God conscientiously uses our
entire life to fulfill all that we have confessed

2. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown
me three times.”
• Jesus Christ knew that Peter’s confession would be fulfilled. However, the Lord also knew that
Peter would deny Him that night
• The reason why Peter denied the Lord
1) The process of Peter’s fall
(1) Peter followed Jesus at a distance, to see the outcome <Matthew 26:58, Mark 14:54,
Luke 22:54)
• Peter followed at a distance because he wanted to see how the matter progressed. In
other words, Peter saw what was happening in an observer/ third-party perspective.
This is the start to the fall of man
• When we look at things in the third party perspective, it means that we do not put our
own life into it
• A lot of disciples will see and hear the messages in church with an observer’s
perspective
• There are times we do not attend church or protest against God because we cannot
agree with the church. We will ask, “God, why did you not answer my prayer?” When
we have hearts like this, we already have a heart of a third party
(2) Terrible scene at the place of judgment, powerless Jesus, constant accusations from
others around him
• When Peter had such a heart to observe what was happening, what he saw was
worse than what he thought would turn out to be. When he saw Jesus Christ being
caught and beaten, he felt that the Lord was helpless
• Therefore, he would think that his following the Lord was wrong, and that he had
wasted his time for the past 3 years.
(3) Three times, Peter said “I do not know this man.”
• When he saw what was happening, and others questioned him, he would naturally
deny the Lord. However, he stayed on to observe
• A lot of believers are also like that. Although they say they would leave, they
continued to stay
 • If I encounter a problem, and I have such heart, thinking: since the church says that I
should pray, I will pray to see how things go and if prayer works indeed. This is the
heart of a third party. Such prayers will not work
(4) The rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter <Luke 22:61>
• When the rooster crowded the third time, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. When
Peter saw the Lord, he knew immediately that the Lord’s words were fulfilled.
Therefore, he was very miserable
(5) Peter went outside and wept bitterly

• Do we know the reason why we are weak?

• We often say we are weak and have many problems. But what is our real problem?
• The real problem is not the problem that the eyes see, Our real problem is we cannot see
how God loves us in the midst of our problem. We will think that the Lord is not fair and
we will get angry with God. Therefore, we will say, “The Lord looks after them but not me.
The Lord gives him but not me.” When we have such a heart, we will start to fall down
• There are times when we are angry with God. However our anger is different from the
debate which Moses had with the Lord. Moses had an upright debate with God and asked
God how he could lead the Israelites. Moses knew that God was real and faithful
• Satan uses our suspicion towards God to attack us

2) Lord Jesus already knew that Peter would fall = How one’s life really is, and hence how one
faces and reacts to the circumstances he faces
• Did the Lord Jesus Christ bear a grudge and harp on to Peter’s denial?
• Jesus Christ’s concern is on the things in our lives that cause us to deny Him
• It is not only when we are being tempted that we deny the Lord. Actually, we do not follow
the Lord in our daily lives
• What does it mean by denying the Lord? Acknowledging the Lord does mean that we tell
others that we are Christians when they ask. If our mouths confess so but we do not
follow the Lord in whatever we do, what we say is useless
• Peter said to the Lord, “Even if I have to die with you, I will disown you.” The Lord knew
that Peter said that based on his emotions
• Many believers are afraid of the eyes of a preacher. This is because a preacher can see
through the life of a person
• There was no one who understood Peter better than Jesus Christ. The Lord saw through
Peter’s life. The Lord knew what Peter’s time table was like
• There was once when the Lord walked on water. Peter saw it and wanted to follow. When
he saw the storm approaching, he was afraid and asked the Lord to save him. The storm
represented the environment and conditions etc
• Jesus Christ then told Peter that he was of little faith. Just because of a storm, he could
not see the God who created the heavens and the earth
• We also often fail to see God as our provider when we are faced with slight financial
problems
• After Peter confessed to the Lord, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”, the
Lord told Peter how the Lord’s church was being built. The Lord’s church is built through
death and resurrection. He would be beaten and killed
• Peter immediately replied with emotion that it would not be. Jesus Christ knew Peter’s
time table
• Thereafter, Jesus brought the disciples to a place called Gethsemane. They were so tired
that they fell asleep
 • The Lord kept telling them that to pray and be watchful so that they are prepared to face
the enemies. The reason why the disciples slept was because they did not know the
reason and importance of prayer
• Some people attend the Sunday Service with the desire to receive grace and answers.
Others, do so while half asleep
• Many people do not understand what the grief of a pastor is. When a pastor saw that
believers’ time tables are not ready, they would not have power and it is impossible not to
be attacked. When a pastor sees this, he is very upset
• The Lord told the disciples to be watchful on 3 occasions but they still fell asleep. The
Lord knew that their spirit was willing but the body was weak. The Lord would definitely
give them space
• When the Lord saw that they were asleep at the third time, He called them up and told
them the enemies approaching. When Peter was awakened, he was immediately filled
with emotions and drew his sword, struck and cut off the ear of the servant of the high
priest

3) Satan has asked to sift you as wheat <Luke 22:31>

• Peter became impulsive again. Being impulsive will not enable God’s work to be fulfilled.
We have to be calm when we follow the Lord
• The problem is that believers do not know the spiritual truths and had not seen the army
of demons. Thus, they are easily devoured by the world
• We are often emotional also and we know that we are using our own strength. How many
of us have heard the Lord telling us, “I know you, I know that you are emotional again”
• When we are busy, we get easily frustrated and worried. Therefore, spouses often quarrel
due to their children. This is a condition of being continually deceived
• A pastor often looks at numbers in the course of his serving. When they look at numbers,
they would receive hints, thinking that the things they have done are wasted
• What a pastor should see is that behind a person, there is a life that can transform
thousands
• When believers are very moody, they are being oppressed by the army of demons
• The rise and fall of our faith is necessary. At the Pentecost, Peter would rise to preach,
resulting in the conversion of 3,000 people
• One day, when our lives are brightened, we will see that our past moodiness was
unnecessary
• It is possible for a person to be blessed within a year. Our problem lies with us always
looking at our own weakness and selfishness.
• Therefore, <James> tells us that God does not tempt us. We are tempted by our own
selfishness
• God is always working, have we confirmed this before? The process that we go through
in our lives is prepared by God. It is for our benefit
• No matter how weak we are, God will forgive us. However, if we continue to be weak
repeatedly, we will build up a stronghold of disbelief in our lives
• Once such a stronghold of disbelief is built up, we will find it very difficult to tear it down
• We have to understand <Ecclesiastes>. We must receive the most absolute answer in
our Lord Jesus Christ
• The 3 main themes in <Ecclesiastes> are: Everything in this world is meaningless.
Therefore we must be in Jesus Christ and receive the most absolute answer in all
matters. Once we have the answer, we can “enjoy blissfulness” in whatever we do
subsequently
 • We will know the degree to which young believers get touched by God’s words in
traditional churches
• A lot of believers with roles: Their children go to church because they go. They have no
interest going to church for worship
• First generation Christians usually experience a lot of persecutions. Second generation
Christians are born in a Christian family. They do not experience the process of
understanding belief and faith
• Therefore, when they meet with problems in society, and cannot find answers in church,
they will go into prosperity gospel (seek churches/ messages that satisfy themselves) if
they did not chose to leave church
• To protect our hearts and to love us, God gave us problems

4) The Lord said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but
the body is weak.” <Matthew 26:41>
• The Lord told us to be watchful because there is an army of demons. They are able to take
away our everything (health, wealth, blessings). They will kill and harm us. When we do not
see this, we will not knee down to pray
• Those people who do not see this truth will see that they have insufficient food to eat, they
have no friends, etc. Therefore they will not pray
• During Chinese Lunar New year, we have to pray in concentration. When we visit our
relatives and friends, we will easily assimilate with the world
• Disciples sleep because they do not see the danger. There is a reason why a person does
not pray. That person has not seen the necessity of prayer
• A person cannot be touched when hearing the message because what they hear is
unrelated to their work, their relationship, their studies
• There will be no change in a person after he attends church for 10 or 20 years if he does
not see that prayer and message are related to his life

3. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back,
strengthen your brothers
1) Jesus Christ’s intercession = Jesus Christ’s discipleship training
• If it wasn’t because of God’s protection, we will long have followed the world under
Satan’s serious accusation and attack
• Jesus Christ had already prepared for Peter to fall away. Therefore, He interceded for
Peter
• The Lord knows that we will be weak. Therefore, He will protect us with His whole life
• The Lord knew that after Peter had fallen, He would not leave him in the lurch. The Lord
would all the more intercede for Peter. After the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected, Peter grew
weak again and went back to catch fish
• Very often, we forget our status. When we are weak, we cannot teach and lead. We are
helpless
• At that time, the Lord will once again find us. When Peter did not manage to catch any
fish for the entire night, the Lord went to see him the following day. At that time, the Lord
asked Peter, “Peter, do you love me?” He asked Peter this three times
• Why did the Lord have to ask Peter thrice? That was because, God wanted Peter to be
sure, and asked Peter to know that even though he denied the Lord 10 times, the Lord
would still love him, because he is called personally by the Lord
• The Lord wanted Peter to follow Him on his own accord and not bother about others. The
Lord told Peter that when he would do as he wish in his younger days. However, when he
grew older, he would experience forced grace. Peter’s whole life fulfilled what the Lord
said
 • The Lord continually interceded for Peter until he left this world

2) The fulfillment of Jesus Christ’s intercession = Peter having been tried and tested
• Similarly, the Lord is continually interceding for us. There will be a day when we will
become alive. The Lord wants to use us with our present conditions
• After the Pentecost, Peter remembered the teachings of the Lord and shared the Lord’s
message, resulting in the conversion of 3,000 people <Acts 1>. Thereafter, churches in
Jerusalem were established <Acts 2>. In <Acts 4>, Peter and John were caught.
However, they were not afraid of death. <Acts 5> Peter had seen through all the people.
Thereafter, the Lord showed Himself to Peter and told him to spread the gospel to the
Gentiles. This is the entire life of Peter
• There are many Peters among is. What is most important is whether we believe that the
Lord will intercede for us throughout life until we leave his world

3) In my life and living, there is a lot of evidence of “Jesus Christ praying for me”
• Why do we believe that the Lord will intercede for us for our entire life? The Bible tells us
that the Lord will love us forever. However, if we just understand the Lord’s words using
our logical mind, we will continue to suffer our whole life
• <Romans 8:34; 8:26> In our weakness, God intercedes for us. When we do not know
what we ought to pray for, the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words
cannot express.
• “Groans that words cannot express” means that the Holy Spirit will allow us to remember
God’s words. Then, we will ask, “Is it true?”
• In other words, we must see the evidence that God loves us and that Jesus Christ is
interceding for us
• When we are disappointed, discouraged and weak, we cannot pray or read the Bible
even if we want to. At such a time, we must at least hear the messages repeatedly. We
already have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Therefore, there will be at least one or two
sentences that we can absorb. At that time, we will ask, “Is it true?”
• This is the Holy Spirit’s groans that words cannot express. The Holy Spirit will cause us to
think of the work and guidance of God in our lives and in the lives of our brothers and
sisters
• It is possible that we do not receive any answers after1-2 months. In Christ, we just have
a heart that mourns and continue to wait upon God. God will let us meet people who can
touch us
• After we have received answers, we will find the reason for the time of 1-2 months which
we had waited
• We should not continue to dwell on our problems. We must first bind the strong man, our
fields and the people we meet will naturally change
• We know that if there is an army of demons opposing us, we must first bind the strong
man
• We will surely meet with temptations. This is because we are blessed and called. Jesus
already told us, that we would all fall away on account of him

4) Speed the journey “to a higher spiritual plain” and quickly become a teacher who is “more
than conquerors”
• No matter what non-believers do, they will rarely receive accusations. However, for us, we
will receive accusations over the smallest matters
• After we have heard the message, even though we know what to do, there will still be
some areas we will retain. These things and areas will cause us to be upset and be in
suffering. However, God will use these to glorify Him
 • After we have heard the message, we have the responsibility to guard our hearts and
minds
• Sanctification is not a one-time resolution. It is necessary to resolute but that is just the
start. After we have resolute, we must see the evidence that the Lord loves us, the Lord
intercedes for us and the Lord supports us, etc
• After we have received God’s encouragement, we will encourage other people
• We are like Peter, who denied the Lord thrice. However, the Lord has already interceded
for us. After we have stood up, we will strengthen other people
• We will become a “Great Apostle” like Peter, or become the Paul of this era to save an
entire era
Sharing and Prayer Topics
1. Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death”: is this how I often
confess to the Lord? In Christ, have I seen the absolute answer for such confession? Will
what I believe in today be all fulfilled in the future?
2. "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will
disown me three times.": At present, what it is that continues to make me worry and fear?
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, is it still worrisome? How do I guard my heart and mind?
3. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned
back, strengthen your brothers: Can I see the evidence of Lord Jesus praying for me?
Does my life continue to be on “a higher ground” because of his prayers for me? How do
quickly gain the higher spiritual ground, thereby, am already freed of “any distractions and
worries”, enjoying “glorifying God, benefiting men, and establishing kingdom”? Where
should I readjust in my life and living?