THINK VICTORY! LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF PETER

LESSON'S FROM THE LIFE OF PETER

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" 1 Corinthians 10:12

Our pride, even spiritual pride, can get us into trouble if we are not careful. We see someone stumble, fall, and make a stupid mistake, and while we may not say it out loud, have you found yourself saying, "I'd never do anything that stupid!"

I was serving at a large church in Bucks County when the Jimmy Swaggart saga hit the Christian world. I was getting ready to begin a choir rehearsal when one of the men in the choir started to criticize and attack Swaggart. He made the statement, "How could anyone be so stupid?" I remember making this statement: "What he did was wrong. Dead wrong.
But there go I but by the grace of God. Rather than criticize him we should be praying for him.

Peter was the disciple that Jesus renamed, "the Rock." He is the one that made a critical error after he made the bold statement to the Lord, "Everyone else, Lord, but not me." And you know the rest of the story.
Peter ends up denying Christ in the garden. Ray Pritchard, in his new book, STEALTH ATTACK - PROTECTING YOURSELF AGAINST SATAN'S PLAN TO DESTORY YOUR LIFE (MOODY), suggests that Peter made a number of mistakes that night:

1. He talked when he should have been listening. At the Last Supper, when Jesus said that all His disciples would desert Him, Peter impulsively blurted out, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you." Within six hours Peter would come to regret those brave words.

2. He didn't appreciate HIS own weakness.

3. He ignored Jesus' warning.

4. He followed afar off. He followed Jesus, but at a distance, when he should have been His elbow. In this case, following Jesus afar off only got him into more trouble.

5. He warmed himself by the wrong fire. Peter had no business warming himself in the company of the enemies of the Lord. By consorting with those who arrested Jesus, Peter was placing himself in a position where he would almost certainly be exposed. Peter warmed himself by the wrong fire until things got too hot for him.

6. He was unprepared when the attack came.

7. He compounded his sin by first deceiving, then denying, and finally swearing. But this was inevitable. Peter set himself up for a fall, and when it came, it was a big one. 'O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.' It is interesting to note that Peter fooled only himself. The others never really believed him. They sensed he was lying. Something in his face and the tone of his voice gave him away."

How about you? Is there an area of spiritual pride in your heart? Are you really listening to what HE wants to say to you when you read His WORD? Are you warming yourself by the wrong fire? Is so, today is the day to make it right. Don't ignore it - DEAL WITH IT! Learn from the life of Peter.

Great quote: "Keeping the joy of heaven always before you will help you run the race with patience. It will help you endure your scuffles with temptation and affliction. What is more, it will make you reckon also that these afflictions 'are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.'" (Romans 8:18) - William Gurnall