Living Hope Fellowship Church...Sermons From the Pastor

THOU ART PETER
by Pastor Kevin Badgley

The most awesome man who ever lived is the Lord Jesus Christ. He still lives! Hallelujah! However, next to our Lord the one that I stand most in awe of, both in modern witnesses of the Lord and in the ancient, is the Apostle Paul. Not only did he enter into that special place that God prepares for them that love Him, but he also gave detailed accounts, information, and witness of how we too can get there! God is not willing that any should be deprived of the perfect, good, and upright thing, and Paul demonstrated that to us in many ways.

We like to pattern our lives after a godly person who is subject to like passions. However, I find that my life lines up more at times with another man whom I don't have a whole lot of respect for in some cases, and that is Simon Peter. Peter was probably one of the most spastic individuals that you would ever meet. I am talking about Simon Peter, the Apostle, who at the beginning was a very unstable individual!

Peter's first name is mentioned many times in the New Testament. The Lord addresses many of the problems that Simon Peter had, which are just like our problems today. I'm not trying to cast a shadow on Peter's walk, but I want us to see ourselves and understand what God can do in people in spite of themselves!

When we need an example of somebody most like us, we had better be looking at Simon Peter. I would like to think of myself heading down the road that Paul took, but really I'm more like Simon Peter.

Let's cover several scriptures about this man Simon Barjona, to help us realize how much we are like him. John 18:10-11 says, "Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"

The Romans allowed the Jews to have their own soldiers of the temple which were the High Priest's servants. Malchus was one of them. He probably did nothing more than carry the torches so that the soldiers' hands would be free to bind the prisoner and swing the sword if necessary. These soldiers were sent to the garden where Jesus was praying, to apprehend Him at Judas' direction. Notice here where Jesus is taken into the hands of the law, because of failures within the church!

Simon Peter, in his infinite zeal, once again botched a situation that could have been a whole lot simpler. I want you to consider that Simon Peter was a fisherman, and therefore was not "into" sword play. He was not great with weaponry. The biggest thing that he probably ever handled was a fillet knife or a butcher knife on some of the fish he caught. As far as a sword, he didn't have one. That is sort of like someone having a gun and not knowing how to use it. They have power, but they are dangerous. It would probably be best that they didn't have one.

Peter took a sword with him that night thinking that he was going to help the Lord in the natural. He had the sword on him the whole time while they were in the garden praying and sleeping. When the soldiers came to take Jesus, Jesus went out in front of the disciples so that they wouldn't be hurt. John 18:4-5 says, "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them."

John 18:6 says, "As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground." The anointing of the Lord was so powerful upon Jesus, that they fell backwards to the ground! After they got up, the people began to take Him. As they did, Peter got wild. He jerked out his sword and swung at Malchus. I do not believe it was Peter's intention to cut off Malchus' right ear! I believe it was his intention to split his head open like a watermelon! He wasn't that good with a sword. He couldn't just reach up and whack off his ear. He was trying to kill him.

Simon Peter had been walking with Jesus for about three and one half years. He was in the garden Gethsemane, and Jesus had been telling him, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41) What did Peter do? He went to sleep again, as usual. He had the King of Kings there, but he slept with the sword at his side.

When Jesus told Peter to put his sword up, He also said in Matthew 26:53-54, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" This was necessary, and Jesus reminded them that He had told them this before. Once again Peter heard, but didn't pay any attention. He tried to kill a man in the presence of the Lord!

Luke 22:51 says, "And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him." This was one of the people participating in coming to get Him for crucifixion! He healed the man right there, and demonstrated to Peter again that he was missing it. The point that I want to drive home about this is that we can stand in the presence of the Lord, and experience the deep things of God, and yet be so carnal that we can end up being a murderer. Malchus wasn't doing anything illegal. Yet, Peter was trying his best to split him open.

Look at Peter a little closer. I want to show you how spastic, unstable, and even physically dangerous people who are not prayed through can be. I believe that we can equate the condition of the church today with Simon Peter, because they are so much alike. Notice some facts about Simon Peter's potential even after eating, drinking, working, and living closely with Jesus for three years.

Matthew 16:13 says, "When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" Peter, in Verse 16 said, ". . . Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Verse 17 says, "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

Jesus said Simon Barjona (Peter) was blessed, because God revealed something to him. God had given him a word from heaven. His Father had talked to him and revealed to him who Jesus was. Then, in Verse 18 was the blessing: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." He said this because Peter was so rock solid. We thrill and marvel at this statement, because He made it to Simon Peter. He starts out saying that He is going to inspire the church by Peter's life. Then in Verse 19 He said, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Now, Simon Peter wasn't the only one who got the keys. Jesus was talking about those who believe on the Word of the Lord, but He used Peter as an example. That rock is the testimony that Jesus is Lord. Verse 19 applies to us, and we can receive it because we believe upon the Lord through their word according to John 17:20.

Peter now had power and blessing, because of his understanding. The anointing of God Almighty was upon him to bind on earth, and God honored it in heaven. Whatsoever he loosed on earth, God loosed in heaven to honor his words.

Understand the wonderful blessing that Jesus was, right then, imparting to that man! Peter was the very first man whom Jesus chose for a disciple. He was the first one who came to mind by the Spirit of God. Peter was feeling good!

Matthew 16:19 is one of the exceeding great and precious promises talked about in 2 Peter 1:4. The anointing of the Holy Ghost and the blessings of Jesus were there as He began to tell His disciples, including Peter, what it would take to receive this ministry. He told them what it would take to attain it, and to pass it on to others. That was the way of the cross. Verse 21 says, "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day."

However, when Peter heard these things, Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him! After all, Peter was anointed of God. Maybe he was going to correct Jesus!?? You would be surprised how many people who are anointed of the Holy Ghost try to use their power to straighten God out, or to twist the scriptures, or to wrestle with the Spirit of God. They say, Well, I'm saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, but they aren't listening to God!

I want to show you an inside factor about Peter that makes all of us extremely uncomfortable. Verse 22 says, "Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. . . ." That doesn't mean to gently entreat. It is more like, Look here; you are messing up! The same verse goes on to say, ". . . Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." Now, Jesus had just told Peter what was going to be. Yet, this man Peter, anointed of God, who had promises of God and heaven opened to him, knew who it was he was talking to. He tried to change the prophecy by saying, ". . . this shall not be unto thee." Think of the magnitude of his foolishness! In other words, He tells our Lord Jesus Christ, No! It's not going to be like this.

You would be amazed at the people who once were moved of God, but now they think they can replace God! Pretty soon they think they know more than God does! They have a better way to make heaven their home, or to do greater things in the ministry than Jesus does! People are re-writing the Bible!

Peter was in the presence of Jesus, and he knew who He was. What Jesus had, He imparted to Peter. The first person in the Body of Christ was Simon Peter. He was the first Apostle chosen. Then he got big fast: right then he began to give Jesus advice. He began to tell him how to run the church. He began to tell him how to live the life. He began to tell him how to be sanctified, and how that maybe he had missed the Father in his instructions.

Peter took Jesus aside; Peter thought that Jesus was perhaps rending the other disciples. Peter was after Him, and was getting all swelled up inside, because Jesus said he was a rock, and that He was going to establish His church on him! Can't you see him swell up, and the other disciples going, Wow, Peter! All right! Then, when Jesus starts to teach to them, Peter stands up in the middle of his service, and starts correcting the Lord! That is like somebody getting up right in the middle of a service when I am preaching and saying, Oh, wait a minute. Let me correct you on that preacher! Some preachers need correcting, but not in the middle of a service. Everything must be done decently and in order.

Jesus stopped talking to the disciples and allowed Peter to pull him aside, but Jesus already knew what was coming. In other words, this is what Peter meant: Now, look. You can't preach that. Don't you know that if you preach that, you are going to make people stumble and fall? What is the matter with you? Far be it from thee, Lord; it's not going to happen to you. So, if it doesn't happen to you, it doesn't have to happen to us. Or maybe he meant that it wouldn't happen to the others, because, after all, he had already arrived! Peter, in his pride and arrogance was not hid. The Holy Ghost wrote the incident down, and we read it today.

In Verse 23 Jesus, ". . . turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."

How is it that a man who had this kind of anointing all of a sudden allowed Satan to enter right in? Jesus re-named him from Simon Peter to Simon Barjona. He also called him Cephas; he surnamed him. But, here is a case where he surnamed him again. He called him Satan. He had named him Cephas, which means "a strong one, rock solid, and unmovable". However, he got to the place where he had to call him Satan.

Peter had received a tremendous experience and a promise of the Lord, but he used it the wrong way. He used his position, and he sinned! How is that possible? Ask Lucifer; he did the same thing. Do you understand why God, when He anoints men mightily, watches them closely? Generally speaking, they cannot handle the pride, nor the adoration of people around them.

I want to show you some of the attributes of the people in the church. The best way to do it is through Simon Peter, because he was the first one in there, and he is a classic case right down through the generations of how sometimes we can get off and make terrible mistakes. I want you to know what the man was capable of doing, and later we will see what God did with him. Oh, the struggles within! This shouldn't make you hopeless; this should make you hopeful.

Matthew 10:1 says, "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." Verse 2 says, "Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter. . . ." This scripture lets us know that he was the first man whom Jesus chose to heal the sick, and cast out devils, and to follow His ministry. There aren't any new diseases in the world. They have new names, new manifestations, but there aren't any new devils. They are just different forms of the same devil.

Jesus gave the first man that he chose, Peter, power over all these things. Now, was Jesus ignorant of this man? Not at all, but He has to choose somebody. I stand in awe of the Lord when I look at what He has to work with, with me as Pastor of Living Hope Fellowship. Don't look at that, but look to God!

We need to understand and discern ourselves as we look at Simon Peter. At the same time, whenever we see that God did great things in his life, we know that great things can be done in our own lives, if we will repent.

Let's do a follow up on Simon Peter. We look at him, because he is whom we are like. Simon Peter is an excellent example of a carnal Christian. He was saved one minute and lost the next. He was anointed one minute and dumb as a hog the next. He was standing in the presence of the Lord one minute, and devil possessed the next. He had to pray back through. Don't you know that Simon Peter was a real pain for the other disciples? He was an embarrassment, he was a big mouth, and he knew it all!

In Matthew we read that Jesus had gone up into a mountain to pray, and at evening he was there alone. However, the ship was in the midst of the sea, tossed with the waves because the wind was contrary. Look in Matthew 14:25. It says, "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea." Jesus began to walk across the sea to meet them to calm their fears. If you will notice, as He was coming to meet them, He had not calmed the sea yet. Where Jesus walked it was calm, or they wouldn't have seen Him for the waves. Also understand that this was way late at night, so how did they see Him out there? I believe that the anointing of the Holy Ghost was on Him so powerfully that He shone like the sun.

Verse 26 says, "And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear." All the disciples were there, and can't you see Simon Peter out there straining his eyes? They see a figure out there, but they don't know who it is. If they could hear His voice, they would recognize Him. Matthew 14:27-28 says, "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water."

I'm going to show you something. By then Peter knew as well as anybody else in the boat that it was Jesus, but to make himself look good he said, ". . . Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." In Verse 29 Jesus said, ". . . Come. . . ." Now, when Jesus tells you to come, He gives you power to come if you will believe it.

He said to come, so immediately the anointing of Jesus came upon Peter. Listen to the bold statement that Peter made. He demanded of the Lord if it was Him, and the Lord was forced to answer him. Oh, how good that made Peter look! He must be a spiritual man. However, he ran into a little problem. Because he was prone to be carnal and spiritual, he changed a lot worse than a tachometer on a stationary engine! He never even got to Jesus. When he got part of the way, he started looking at the storm, and found he had stuck his neck out by going to the Lord to make himself look good. He found out that he was going to get eaten up! Now, this was all going through his mind.

Peter probably just looked at all the others in the boat. Now, they weren't going out there! Can you imagine one of them saying, Jesus can do that, but you can't do that, Peter. Can you imagine hearing Peter reply, Yes I can. He said that I could. So, he did; he walked on water as a natural man! He started to sink, because he didn't keep his eyes on the Lord. Why didn't he keep his eyes on the Lord? He was probably busy looking back to see how many other eyes were on him!

Some want to be behind the pulpit, because they want to preach the Word of the Lord, but some just want to be seen! Some tell you that certain preachers can't have sin in their lives, because they are mighty preachers and witnesses. However, maybe they are just like Peter!

The Lord revealed to me that Peter did it to show off to the other disciples. He wanted to have preeminence over them, so they would think that he was a "hot shot" preacher, and anytime he told them to do something they would jump. After all, he walked on water. However, they watched him sink! They could say, You didn't have enough anointing, and you weren't prayed up enough to continue to walk!

I would like to think of myself as being like Paul, but I'm finding myself more like Peter. Not in everything, but we can certainly get an example of what human nature, with just enough anointing to be dangerous, can do. Look at this. It says that he walked on water for a little while, but in Verse 30 he was afraid, ". . . and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me."

Peter, James, and John were with Jesus more than the rest of them. One time He went into a place where a girl had died, and He put everybody out, including the parents, except for those three with Him. They were walking in His presence, and they saw Him command the girl to rise. Therefore, as far as experiences and being with the Lord, that was unquestioned concerning Peter. However, folks, what you have seen, and heard, and even done is still on the line today. What are you doing right now, and what are you going to be doing tomorrow? If you aren't stable, the devil can sift you like wheat.

Matthew 17:1 says, "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."

Peter said they all needed houses. The anointing of God was upon Peter, because he still had the boldness to speak. Discernment was there, because he recognized Moses and Elias. He didn't know what Moses and Elias looked like, because they lived hundreds of years before he did. They didn't have name tags on, and it wasn't stamped on their foreheads.

Now, Peter was in the presence of the anointing of God, the Father, because Jesus was transfigured before them. Peter, James, and John, three witnesses, looked into the heavenly realm. Peter was trying to help heaven out and build them a home. God doesn't need our help, folks! He needs our commitment. God, the Father, then spoke in Matthew 17:5: "While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."

Quit trying to figure out how to do it on your own, and listen to Jesus. I know that He was talking to Peter, and also to all of us. God is merciful to us. Sometimes we have crazy ideas, and we try to mingle the flesh and the spirit together. God wants us to straighten up, listen to His Son, and be still. That is basically what He was saying.

The Word is a discerner. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." When we read and see something in the Bible like us, we get convicted. Then it is time to pray through. If you aren't convicted over anything, then you should be doing the works of Jesus, because you don't have any sin. However, if you don't get convicted over anything, and you aren't doing the works of Jesus, then I would say that you had better get prayed through!

Matthew 18:21-22 says, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." That is every day. Hardly anybody is going to sin against you 490 times in one day. Jesus was trying to get across to us to just forgive anyway, no matter how many times someone has sinned against you. You may not trust them, or stick your neck out to get it chopped off, but you don't have to hold a grudge. You have to forgive them.

What do we see here? Peter had already made a determination about how godly he was. There were some around him who had sinned against him, so he figured that he would forgive them once. If he didn't forgive them the second time, that wouldn't look good, but he thought that seven times was surely enough! Apparently he thought that as soon as he forgave someone seven times, the rest of the day he could hold a grudge! Peter approached the Lord and tried to dicker with Him about how far he should go in his forgiveness. He tried to get the Lord to agree with him that forgiving only seven times was sufficient.

That is like going up to the Lord and saying, Now, Lord, So and So over here is a jerk. They treat me like a jerk, they act like a jerk, and they make me feel like a jerk. When I'm around them in public everybody thinks that I'm a jerk, because they are a jerk. I don't want to be around the jerk, but the jerk keeps calling me on the phone, and keeps doing this and saying that. So, Lord, I'm done. So, kill them. I've taken a tally, and I have forgive them there, and forgiven them here, and I'm done with them.

He was trying to dicker with the Lord on how forgiving to be. He wanted a limit on how many times we have to forgive. He thought if he dickered with the Lord long enough, he could find the limit. Do you see what we do?

Peter is a wonderful subject to study. Look at Matthew 19:27. It says, "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" When you see "Then answered Peter" anywhere, you can almost see him in the congregation saying, Hey, Lord, I've got a little thing that I would like to discuss with you. In other words, Peter was saying, I want a reward here. Do you realize what I have given up for you? Do you realize what I have put up with for you? This is coming from Peter. I have left everything to follow you.

In John, Chapter 21, we find that Peter, with all his years of knowledge of the fishing industry, and knowing all about the lake, had trouble catching fish. Jesus told him to go out there and cast his net on the right side of the ship, and he would find. Some would think that he had it out on the left side of the boat all the time, because that was where the troller was for the net. No, he had always been casting out on the wrong side of the boat without God.

This is like us rolling our eyes, saying, I've witnessed to this person before. It isn't going to do a bit of good. We have to do things God's way. Peter went ahead and put his net out. He might have thought, What does a carpenter know about fishing? What does a preacher know about what you do for a living? Huh? What does God know about me?

Luke 5:5 says, "And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net." I believe Peter wanted to hurry up and jerk that net back in so it would fail. I believe he was putting forth a half baked effort, but when they started pulling they probably thought it was hung on the bottom. They pulled harder. Peter might have said, We will just tear the net, but if we do, then he will just have to pay to fix it. I'll teach him to tell me how to preach, or how to live, or how to fish. They pulled it up, and it was tearing because it was so full of fish! Luke 5:6 says, "And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake."

Perhaps Peter just couldn't wait until he could go up and say, Sorry, Preacher! I've had so many people condescend to me as a minister. A man came to me one time and patted me on the back and said, It's all right, because I tried to talk to him a little bit about the Lord. He was working on the River Boat (gambling boat), and I could tell that he was condescending to me and thinking, Poor little preacher, I know that you are trying to convert my wicked soul, and it's all right, but this is hard core worldly business. You can't interfere with it. I know my business. Preacher, you have your place, and I have mine. His place will be in hell, if he does not repent!

Luke 5:7 says, "And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink." These ships were big enough to easily and normally carry the workers and the fish, but the net was fuller than full, and both ships began to sink! Verse 8 says, "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." He still was so proud he couldn't pray through! He was caught with his "pants down", and was mad because somebody caught him. This is all in the Bible.

Peter went fishing naked one day (instead of preaching) after the resurrection of Jesus. He had seen the risen Lord! It was hot, and he was still that carnal and worldly. When he saw the Lord, he knew he couldn't come to Him like that, so before he jumped in the water and swam to the Lord he girt his fisherman's coat about him. Read about it in the book of John. Peter was carnal, natural, and earth bound!

Peter was the first disciple, and had the biggest mouth in the whole pack. When Jesus went to trial, Peter followed him afar off. He didn't quit following him. Like Peter, we might say, Oh, I won't deny you, Lord. When things get tough I'll get tougher. I won't leave you. I'll give my life for you. Whenever things really come on, yes, Lord, hallelujah, I'm going to be right in the front line! When they stand us up, and march us up to death, I'll tell them to just pull the trigger, because I'm going to be with Jesus! Peter was the first one to run. Talk is cheap. In different ways, we've all done it.

Now, let's look at Matthew 26:58. It says, "But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end." Peter just sat down with the servants and watched. The Bible says it was cold, and Peter was warming his hands by the fire that the Pharisees kindled. He warmed his hands by the same fire that the murderers and the anti-Christians were. He went Ecumenical that night. Do you see how his life looked like a heartbeat monitor (up and down erratically)?

Look at Matthew 26:73. This was the third time that somebody approached him at the fire. "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." Peter knew the doctrine of Jesus and the language. In other words, he sounded just like one of them. Verse 74 says, "Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew." He didn't hit his thumb with a hammer! He was under pressure by just a look and a word from somebody else. He cursed and swore and said he did not know Jesus. You can take the name of the Lord thy God in vain without actually using curse words.

When God tries to send revival in the church, he finds them usually in the "praying back through" mode, rather than the "praying into" mode. They are on the defensive, so he can't send a blessing because pride would take them. He waits for them to pray through, and about the time he comes down to have revival again, they are back out cursing, or swearing, or doing something else as individuals or as a group.

Peter told Jesus that He wasn't going to wash his feet! He didn't want anyone to know that his feet needed washing. Imagine somebody coming in to your house, or you coming in to someone else's house, and someone says, Just a minute. They go get a pail, and tell you to take off your shoes, and they start washing your feet. Would that seem to indicate to you and to others who are watching, that your feet stink? Well, Peter's sins stank; his fleshly ways stank. It was a common custom in those days to wash feet, but the point here is that he needed it just like every one else. Jesus washed the other disciples' feet, but John 13:8 in part says, "Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. . . ."

Folks, this is in the Bible. Some will say they don't need to pray through, because they've been in this thing long enough that they know what they're doing. The longer that you are in it, the harder it is for you to pray through, if you aren't in the "mode" of praying through.

The remainder of Verse 8-9 says, ". . . Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." Then Peter wanted Jesus to wash everything. All of a sudden he got spiritual, because everyone was watching. Then he wanted to be cleaner than everyone else. The other disciples might say, Well, we had our feet washed by Jesus. Then Peter could say, Yeah, but I had my head washed as well. I'm not only a Christian, I'm a deacon. I'm not only a Christian, I'm a preacher. Some might say, I'm an Apostle, I'm an Evangelist, or I'm a Whatever. After all, Jesus double anointed me, because I got both hands laid on me! (Don't just wash my feet, but wash my head and my hands. I mean, wash me good so I can be cleaner than everyone else!) John 13:10 says, "Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. . . ."

We find that Peter, whenever he was filled with the Holy Ghost in Acts, Chapter 2, was the first one to start preaching. What a wonderful transformation! He got 3,000 people saved at his first meeting! At the next meeting he got 5,000 people saved. Nobody else had even started working. Some were probably still looking at Peter and saying, Look at that crazy, cussing fisherman! He was an ex-cursing fisherman who got filled with the Holy Ghost! He was finally in tune with God! You may think that he could just go on in the ministry and never worry about messing up from then on, and people could just follow old Peter right on in! Wrong.

Peter came to the gate Beautiful. As you recall, Peter was bold, and anxious, and always in a hurry. He was an extremely impatient man. When he told that man to rise up and walk, he grabbed him. He was either going to rise up and walk, or he was going to help him! Acts 3:7 says, "And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength." God honored his Word. The man started leaping, and was having a good time!

It got to where his campaigns were so powerful and so awesome that his shadow healed the sick! Peter was converted! Jesus told him one time in Luke 22:31-32, "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Peter had been sifted by Satan, but later he was strengthening the brethren! Everybody remembered those words that Jesus said to him.

They thought Peter has prayed through, and they wouldn't have to worry about him going off the wall any more. However, Paul found him in carnality. Galatians 2:11-13 says, "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation."

Peter had made tremendous advances, but he was still capable of failure, big time. Peter even tripped up Barnabas, whom the Bible said was a good man in Acts. Mark 10:18 says, "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Therefore, whenever the Bible said that certain people were good, they were good!

Peter's messing up pulled Barnabas away; he was carried away with their dissimulation, because Peter hadn't totally yielded to the Lord even then. So, it doesn't matter what kind of anointing you have had, if you are not walking with God today, you still are capable of sin. You still are capable of great mistakes. You still need to watch yourself.

At the empty tomb of Jesus the angels talked to the women and said in Mark 16:7, "But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you." God, the Father, spoke to Peter indirectly through His angel. Peter was mentioned by name. Think about the love that God had for that man! Think about the love that God has for you and me, even though we are like Peter in so many ways that it makes us very uncomfortable.

You can't become an Apostle of God, and write the gospel if you haven't been turned over to God completely. In the end we find that Peter wrote two books of the Bible, First and Second Peter. He finally prayed through, and we can learn much from this man's life.

1 Peter 1:3 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"

2 Peter 1:4 says, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." Peter at that time was finally in a place where he could write those things. I thank God that he wrote down the details about it. We are not exempt from the life of Peter. We are very much like him, but also realize where God put him in First and Second Peter. He had entered into the rest, and he was where Paul had arrived. It just took him a little longer. There is hope for every one of us, but we must pray, because even trying to do what we can for the Lord, we find that there are so many devices that men work from their own minds.

Lord, we know that carnality can never be spiritual. It is never going to be subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Lord, we see Peter pray through again and again, even after being saved and filled with the Holy Ghost and being a tremendous minister. We also know that the day came when he was able to become a partaker of your divine nature 100%. Help us to get there, God.

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