Derek Grier - The Blessing After The Breaking
We're gonna be in Matthew 26, Matthew 26, and verse 30. We're gonna do a little bit of jumping around. This message could very easily be two hours long but I did my best to condense it. So we are gonna cover a lot in a little bit of a space. Verse 30. And when they had sung a hymn, Jesus and the disciples were together for the last time. Jesus was about to experience literal hell on earth. But despite what was coming he did not miss the worship portion of the service. He said when he had sung a what? hymn. We don't necessarily worship because things are great. We worship because God is great.
So when I feel up he's worthy. When I feel down he's worthy. When I don't feel anything at all he's worthy. And I've learned to praise him no matter what I'm going through. And I got that from Jesus. He's about to be crucified, hung naked in front of all his peers and everyone who had seen his ministry. His mama was gonna watch from afar. And nonetheless, he lifted up a song of praise. So I do have a question for you. Why is it that you don't praise? After they had sung a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives which was Jesus' favorite place to pray.
And Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:9, he said, "Listen, this is how you guys ought to pray. You need to begin like this, 'Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed, hallowed, hallowed, hallowed.'" Prayer is always to begin with worship and reverence of the name. Worship in fact, Jesus is actually teaching us in what we call the Lord's prayer is the wings that kind of take our prayers to heaven. But he also taught us that true worship like prayer is not accomplished just by the lips but ultimately by the heart. And when we lose our worship, we lose everything.
So in verse 31, everyone is enjoying the presence of God and God himself to God taking on fleshes, standing there the presence of God is in the room. And imagine listening to Jesus sing, that must have been amazing. But then Jesus messes up the whole thing by stating these ominous words. I'm like, Jesus, can't you keep a mood? I mean, why you gotta mess stuff up? And many of us we just want to have church and feel good. We don't always wanna deal with truth.
So then Jesus said, they said all of you, none excluded. Sweet Holy Spirit thank you for your presence but I know something about the flesh. All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. You're not gonna understand what's happening, for it is written. Where did Jesus go in tough moments? He went to the word, He went to the word. For it is what? written. I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. So Jesus is beginning to teach them. He's been doing it for a while, but it hasn't registered.
Now if there's no Christianity without the cross there's no progress without sacrifice. And there will not be effective harvest without pruning. But he went through it because he saw the afterwards. But after I have been raised, and he was saying, "Disciples, you will stumble the shepherd will be struck. But don't give up because I'm working on something now that you only understand later". And I'm a little bit ahead of myself but God's been working on something right now that you will only be able to appreciate later. Right now you don't get it, right now you might not like it, but later.
Aristotle said this, he said, "Patience may be bitter, but its fruit is sweet". He said, "But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee". First Corinthians 2:8 tells us that the devil thought the cross would actually be the end of God's plan in Jesus' life. But really the cross was the best part of God's plan. And Jesus was saying he would see them on the other side. But many of us think the cross we're facing right now is the end of us. But actually it's the making of us. Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Even if all are made to stumble because of you, I'm not like everyone else. I am the exception to human principles and God's word". And then he said, "I I, I".
God had spoken, but I, I, I. God engaged. He said, you might as well smack Jesus in the face. Jesus is God taking on flesh, but he's also man speaking under complete inspiration of the Holy Ghost. And Jesus just said, "Everybody is gonna stumble but you come back". I'm different. I'm the exception. I will never. Be cautious about what you say you will never do. Adam thought he'd never until he met Eve. Samson thought he'd never until he met Delilah. Miriam thought she'd never until she got leprosy. Be slow to condescend. Be slow about judging other people because given the right circumstances we will surprise ourselves. You will surprise yourself.
I recognize you've been in church for 30 years but you will be surprised about what life might make you do. And I've learned in my life that unless I'm speaking the word of God or something proven in science and it's not that I believe in science as God created the laws that science has unveiled, but words like always, words like never, forever or whosoever, they belong exclusively to God. And as saved as you are, until you are in that category, be slow to talk about what you would never ever do. But Peter didn't understand this yet.
Let's go to Matthew 16:21. Because he had done the same thing 10 chapters earlier in Matthew 16. From that time, we're going back about a year maybe a year and a half. And he does this throughout, and I can't cover all of the text, but he does this throughout. How many of y'all have a few habits and some character quirks that can sneak up on you and it's kind of a blinds like you don't see it and you don't even understand, why are you having all this trouble with me? God, why are you dealing me this way? Because he sees things you don't see.
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and raised on the third day. But guess what? Peter was not hearing it. He thought he knew better than the prophetic scriptures. He thought he knew better than God. And many times we don't put it that way but we think we know better than God. God tells you the program and he says get with the program but you think you have a better way, you have a better approach. That somehow you are the exception. I'm gonna dig in just a little bit to help you, but stay with me.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke Jesus. He said, "Far be it from You, Lord". Now he's speaking like he's under inspiration. This shall not happen to you. Peter was sincere. Peter loved Jesus. And there's nothing wrong with not wanting something bad to happen to someone you love. But just because he was sincere didn't mean he wasn't sincerely wrong. He had to understand like many of us have to come to understand there is no Christianity without a cross. Jesus said, "Unless you take up your cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple".
So we love Jesus when he talks about healing. We love Jesus when he talks about getting our bills paid. We love Jesus when we talk about how he protects us and preserves us. But all of a sudden when Jesus shows up and he says on this such and such a street, I want you to meet me there at two o'clock because I have a cross named Sally, a cross named Eddie, a cross that might be your job, a cross that might be your child. We're there for every other meeting except the one where he wants to introduce us to the cross.
Peter's opinion about how things should go were in direct opposition to Jesus. But I do wanna tell you this is normal. If you are in opposition with God's plan for your life don't think it's strange. Don't beat yourself, condemn yourself, because Isaiah tells us my thoughts are not your thoughts. If it was the way we thought the Holy Spirit wouldn't have to reveal it. We wouldn't need teaching. We wouldn't have to understand the Bible if his thoughts were naturally our thoughts. So when we really have a interaction with God and we really come to face-to-face with God, we're not always gonna get it. He says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways".
My way of doing things is not the way you do it. As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than yours and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. It's normal not to understand God's ways. But what's foolish is when we choose ours over his. So Jesus turned to Peter, how many know it's not a good idea to correct Jesus? But if you are honest with yourself many of us spend half our time correcting God. It shouldn't be that way. Why is it that way? Come on, come on. So come on, don't put Peter down here because Peter's you and I. So he turned and said to Peter because Peter started smelling himself and Jesus had to respond harshly for his own good.
God is rough not because he can't control his temper, but because he knows sometimes it's the only tone we'll respond to. It's getting worse. Because if you don't understand nice, I could still make you understand. God's tone in your life is commensurate often to your stubbornness and your pride. If you respond to a whisper, he'll give you a whisper. But if you need a loud crashing voice, he knows how to do that too. So he said to Peter, his leading disciple, a man he loved, a man who had left all to follow him, a man who had sacrificed for him, a man that he had used to cast out demons, lay hands on the sick, because all of the 12 apostles had been sent out and they've done mighty works and miracles. And he said, "Get behind me, Satan".
Peter, you think that second guessing God's will is not a big deal. But what I need you to understand is that all that second guessing going on is a central part of the devil's plan to totally destroy you and totally destroy your future leadership. Jesus saw Peter's thoughts and mindset for what it was. And by the time we, again, we're in chapter 16 when he does this, but by the time we get to chapter 26 Peter is almost fully in the grip of Satan. What happens is we keep playing with things, playing with things, playing with things, playing with things. I used this example once. It's a horrifying example. There was a lady that really liked snakes.
So she had this big old boa constrictor or something that she slept with at night. And little time passed and she used to sleep with the snake, but maybe a week or two in she took the snake to the vet. Was like, "Well, my snake has stopped eating and I'm concerned about the snake". And the vet asked her to describe what goes on with the snake. And he told this, "Hey, I sleep with this snake. I love this snake. This snake is my life and my heart". And the vet had to tell him the reason the snake stopped eating was so he'd have enough room to eat you. Satan was trying to swallow Peter up. Peter again, by 26, he's almost in the full grip. And if you keep giving the devil a seat at your table, don't be surprised when he flips it over.
Luke 22:31, and we're gonna get back to 26. He gives us some more details here. And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan," Satan that was on you in 16, I've been trying to teach you through it. We worshiped through it and all the rest but you kept making the same decision. Indeed Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat.
So Peter kept letting the devil in his head. So the devil actually had solid spiritual ground to ask God for Peter's mind. After you have danced with the devil all night don't be surprised when the DJ expects to get paid. You say, Bishop, you're in your opinion right now. Romans 6:16. He says this, "We become servants to whatever or whoever we obey".
So I've learned in my lives, whether I understand it or not, God's word is more liberating than I've ever imagined. Because when I obey him, I'm free from the other one. You hear what I'm saying? Verse 32, Jesus sees what's going on in the spirit realm. He's saying, "You know what? Satan has dibs on you, Peter". I've called you to repent but you refuse. I mean, I was nice, I got hard, I mean, I said it backwards, I said it forward, we sung it, we did everything. And he asked to sift you. When weed is sifted, that's when they throw the weed in the air and the chef would blow away and never use it again, never see it again. And only the good stuff will come down. And what the devil was saying is Peter is like that chef.