Peter the Man (5)

Driving home: So that all that God did when he scrambled up the gene pool in Jeremiah's mother's womb, and all the influences that went into his life were all preparatory that Jeremiah should be the instrument through which God would …

The opening lines of Jeremiah are used to illustrate how God prepares and uses specific individuals as His mouthpieces, drawing a parallel to Peter's preparation.

The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning, January 18th, 1998, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. When we open our Bibles to the book of Jeremiah, the first thing that strikes us in the text of that book are these words. The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin. And those opening lines tell us that when we read through this portion that we call the book of Jeremiah, we are reading the words of Jeremiah.

0:02 - 0:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first major category of events in Peter's pilgrimage is his eyewitness experience of Jesus' ascension, as recorded in Acts 1:9-11, highlighting the unique and undeniable…

Martin contrasts Jesus' sudden post-resurrection appearances (e.g., appearing behind closed doors) with the visible, gradual levitation of His ascension to highlight the unique nature of the ascension.

This was something entirely different from those strange and sudden post-erection appearances. You remember, John records that they were gathered together behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. And suddenly, Jesus appeared before them. He did not come through the wall by degrees and suddenly begin to appear before them.

7:30 - 7:54 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The blessing was not just some kind of pious gibberish. The blessing was pronounced, blessed, officially identified with his people, and identifying God with his people in such a way that was pronounced, was actually con…

Martin asks the listener to imagine how many times they would have seen a priest pronouncing God's good will and favor, to emphasize the profound significance of Jesus' final blessing before His ascension.

The blessing was not just some kind of pious gibberish. Now put yourself in the place of God, in conjunction with the offering of sacrifices, in conjunction with the stated gatherings outlined by God. How many times would you have seen the priest and pronouncing God's good will and favor to his people? God, by my gracious commitment to my people, this meant that Jesus is about to be taken from them, and of all the possible, stretches out his hand, and remember, is resurrected.

17:23 - 18:28 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It is a man who from being threatened, beaten, and then imprisoned not only from the example of his Lord, which he does. But out of the crucible of the very principles he has proved the category that we see.

The contrast between Peter's denial of Christ before a servant girl and his later willingness to suffer for Christ illustrates his transformation into a 'rock-like' man.

The threat of being identified with Jesus in the presence of a servant girl that causes him to lie openly, to deny his attachment, to take forces upon himself, to validate his lies. Now when Peter is threatened and charged, this man in the midst of suffering and opposition, a rock-like man who sounds it a privilege to suffer. Four of the five chapters, explicit reform, consolation, to give them directions. To give them practical exhortations. Is it someone who went off to seminary and had a course on the theology of suffering for Christ? No.

45:24 - 46:29 Read in full sermon

The point: For those aspiring to ministry, understand that God will prepare you through difficult experiences and self-discovery, not just reading books.

God's preparation of those aspiring to ministry is likened to the hammer and chisel, implying that He will use difficult experiences to shape them.

answers any more than Peter. God is your God and your guide even unto death. And for you who have some aspirations to be useful in some form of ministry, you are not going to be purposeful. I've got to make you useful by reading books. Well, that'll be part of it. The hammer and the chisel. He's committed to let you discover things about yourself that will put a wound on your spirit that you'll carry to your grave. And he could never forget. And God will let you do things that will put a wound on your spirit that you'll

64:25 - 65:11 Read in full sermon