Peter was trying to be a good disciple.
He said he would stand by Jesus.
Before the cock crows:
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee,
That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Matthew 26:34
I will never deny thee, Lord:
Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”
And so said all the disciples. Matthew 26:35
…so said all the disciples…
So, how did Peter end up denying the Lord
when he walked with Him and talked with Him?
Yet, Stephen, on the other hand, was stoned to death
and was able to be courageous?
That is the difference between human strength,
the flimsy strength of the flesh,
and the Strength that is given to us from the Holy Spirit.
Was Stephen a better Christian? A more capable person?
Not exactly, but he was able to move over in humility
and let God give him the strength he needed.
That is the difference between the flesh and the spirit
and the difference between humility and boasting.
Do not say I will do this and this but if the Lord wills…
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city,
and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.
For what is your life?
It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
For that ye ought to say,
If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. James 4:13-16
The parable of the two sons
is one where the Lord is clear He is not interested in lip service.
Which one did the will of his father:
But what think ye? A certain man had two sons;
and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
And he came to the second, and said likewise.
And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Whether of them twain did the will of his father?
They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them,
Verily I say unto you,
That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
Matthew 21:28-31
Peter did not do the will of Jesus.
This is not to dog on Peter, this is to learn from him.
He made the mistake of thinking he could stand strong on his own,
In his case, it was to stand up for Jesus in difficult circumstances.
Better is it that thou shouldest not vow,
than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Ecclesiastes 5:5
Each of us will encounter situations
that we might find difficult to stand up for the Lord,
whether it’s at work, in a social situation, with our children,
other family members, or friends old and new.
We cannot stand up for the Lord on our own.
We need His strength. We need His courage.
We need to be in tune with Him so we can speak on His behalf
and so that we can be a good witness for the Lord.
We also need to remember to walk with Jesus is a joint walk.
We don’t walk with Him without Him, He is always with us.
When we are so sure we’re great, we’re apt to fall.
We are nothing without Him.
We can do nothing without Him.
He is the vine, we are the branches.
I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without Me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire,
and they are burned. John 15:5-6
Jesus is with us to see us through, to help us get to the end.
Let us never refuse His help, His lending hand, His strength, His power,
His love or His purpose for our lives.
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear,
ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 1 Peter 5:4