Welcome to What the Word is Saying and thank you for reading what God is saying to us today. Let’s begin with prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you that you are the healer of broken hearts and lives. You did not say that before or after becoming your disciples that we would not experience trouble. But you did promise that you would never leave us and that you would be with us providing comfort and healing from the wounds we encounter in this life. I pray that your Holy Spirit would reveal truth to our hearts and minds today so that we can come away refreshed, renewed, and most of all healed by your loving mercy in Jesus’ name Amen.
(1) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD anointed me To bring good news to the humble; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners; (2)To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, (3)To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. So, they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified (Isaiah 61:1-3, NASB).
I believe the Lord is speaking a new truth to us today about our lives. The enemy has laid his trap to ensnare those who are not mindful or surrendered to the Father’s will. The prosperity gospel has embedded the lie that trials and temptations are only existent in those who lack faith. This is unequivocally false and a lie from the pit. Jesus never promised us a life of comfort and ease here on earth. Time after time He told the disciples that they would face trials and unfair treatment for His namesake. Their hearts would be broken, but that He would bind them up.
Jesus warned them that they would face persecution and even death for their faith. The same circumstances exist today and in fact are soon to become prevalent in the west. Just as the people of Israel now find themselves being persecuted and hated for their heritage, the same will soon hold true for those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus. There is coming a time of sifting like there has not been in a very long time in the church. Those of us who profess Him as Lord had better prepare for harder times to come in the coming days. We must fall on our faces before the Lord and seek His guidance and mercy. A prayer I find myself praying more often these days is that my faith will not fail. Asking the Lord Himself to intercede on my behalf in the midst of trials and temptations. That I would by His grace cling to His garment and find rest in His presence. May you do the same in Jesus’ name Amen.
“(69) Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a slave woman came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” (70) But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” (71) When he had gone out to the gateway, another slave woman saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” (72) And again, he denied it, with an oath: “I do not know the man.” (73) A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “You really are one of them as well, since even the way you talk gives you away.” (74) Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. (75) And Peter remembered the statement that Jesus had made: “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly (Matt. 26:69-75).”
Such a profound story of His mercy and grace. Jesus foreknew what Peter would do and even warned Him of it:
“(28) “You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials; (29) and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you (30) that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (31) “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you men like wheat; (32) but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (33) But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death!” (34) But He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me (Luke 22: 28-34).”
Notice the setting that is here, they have shared in the Lord’s supper for the first time and despite Jesus telling them repeatedly what path lay in front of Him the disciples did not discern it. They were happy and at peace in the presence of Him. But Jesus knowing the future warned them of what was to come for them. It was not a kingdom of wealth and ease here on earth. It was a life of trial, temptation, and heartbreak. How can it be any different for us?
“(16) But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated to them. (17) And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. (18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. (19) Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matt. 28:16-20).”
We are His disciples and therefore all that Jesus commanded and taught to the twelve we can expect in our own lives. Trials and temptations are not excluded from that; therefore, failure and heartache are also possible for us. Jesus told Peter that he and the other disciples had been demanded by the devil to be sifted like wheat. What does this mean? In the first century it was common for wheat to be sifted by placing the stalks onto a flat hard surface and then to trample it under the feet of animals and humans to crush the stalks and break the grain loose from the stalks. Then the stalks were then winnowed by a fork and thrown into the air. The heavier grain would fall to the ground and the useless chaff would be carried away by the wind.
There are two lessons to be learned here. First that the grain or wheat is trampled at the same time as the stalk or useless chaff. They both have to be trampled in order to separate the two. Secondly, only the heavier grain when winnowed by the fork falls back down to the floor and the chaff is carried away by the wind. Jesus allows us to be sifted for our own benefit. We face the same trials and temptations as those around us for the purpose of separating us from the world. Then once we have been trampled by the trial when we are lifted up with the world instead of floating away with the wind, we fall grounded in Him. This is a painful process.
Look back to Peter once he failed his time of testing. He remembered what the Lord told him he would do and then wept bitterly. The trial of his faith trampled him down to lacking trust in Jesus’s ability to protect him even if he told the truth about knowing Jesus. I would also point out that Peter cursed and swore in that moment. It can be assumed that superlatives were included with his proclamation that he did not know Jesus. I think that we look back at these men and fail to see there were not much different than us. They fail, they sin, and they struggle to trust the Lord fully. That should be comforting to us because we have our own inadequacies, but I digress. Peter fell on his face and wept bitterly or that is how I picture it anyway. It is what I have done and would do in a similar situation. Jesus already knew what would happen and was there to heal his brokenness when he repented.
For the longest time I shut off my emotions. I can remember going literally years without crying. I, like Peter, turned my back on Jesus but, it was a much longer time before I came back to Him. The road was not easy but, believe it or not it started with a Disney movie called “Inside Out.” The movie is about a young girl and her family moving from Minnesota to San Francisco. She has to leave her friends and everything she knows behind and in the process loses who she is. She shuts up and bottles up her pain until the time when she cannot contain it. After running away and boarding a bus by herself to return to her friends in the world she once knew she breaks. She walks home and her parents meet her in the doorway of their home. She begins to weep bitterly and falls into the loving arms of her parents. While watching that scene I began to cry for the first time in many years. The love they expressed to her despite what she had done was so gracious and understanding. That is what Jesus gives to us.
Remember the story of the prodigal son. The son realizes what he has done and returns to his father with the intention of only being a servant. However, the father was watching and waiting for him and runs out into the field and embraces him. This is what Jesus does for us. He knows where we will fail. He prays for us to come through our trials and temptations and when we do, He cradles us into his lap and comforts us with His love. Bad things are going to happen to us. Jesus told us there would be trouble In this world. We were not promised that we would not face them. We were only promised that He would be with us during them.
“No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it (1 Cor. 10:13).”
He is that way of escape. It is through prayer and study of His word that we find our escape from the trials. We still endure them but, we know He will lead us through. That not a single one brought against us will overcome us. Look at Peter, he failed the trial but when he repented and wept bitterly God restored him.
“(6) But he *said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him. (7) But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you Mark 16: 6-7).’”
The angel specifically told the women at the tomb to go and tell the disciples and “Peter” to meet Him in Galilee. Again, this is an example of His grace. He knew Peter was feeling inadequate because of His failure and drew him back by offering his forgiveness. Jesus does the same for us. He knows we are going to fail but, He is continually drawing us back to Himself and His presence. He is after all the one who Isaiah prophesied would be the one who would bind up the brokenhearted.
Maybe you are feeling convicted by this message and recognize your own failures. I encourage you to turn back to His loving arms. He is ready to lift you up as the father did to his prodigal son. He is longing for your return and waiting for you to do it. You just need to repent of your sins and seek His forgiveness. He is willing and wanting to give you all that he has for you in Him. He does not promise you a life of ease. However, He does promise that when you are sifted as the disciples were sifted, that He is praying for your faith will not fail.
Maybe you’re reading this, and you do not know Jesus. You are feeling the weight of your sin in your life and need forgiveness. I have good news, Jesus came to this earth, lived a sinless life, suffered, and died on a cross, and three days later rose from the dead. Because of this you can find true forgiveness for your sins. All you need is to “confess Jesus as the Lord of your life and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9).” He knows you and what you have done, and He offers you grace. He forgives you and sets you free from the bondage of sin because He loves you. All that is required is to submit to His authority. Then take Him at His word and believe by faith that He died and rose again for your sins, and you will be saved.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. If you have responded to the message of the gospel, please contact us so that we may stand beside you in your new walk with Jesus. If the content of this message has impacted you, feel free to contact and express how God has used it to impact your life.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used with permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org.
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