PASTOR: INTRODUCTION

As our reading begins, the Lord Jesus is at table with His disciples. They are celebrating the Passover, what’s come to be called “the Last Supper” among Christians.

During this Worship-meal, the Lord has told them that He knows one of them is planning to betray Him. At this, the disciples each begin denying the charge, asserting their strengths and the great things they’ve done as evidence that it could not be them. And soon, the question as to which of them was planning to betray the Lord gets lost in their squabbling over which of them had the most valuable strengths and had done the greatest things…

ELDER READS: LUKE 22:24-34 [NLTse]
May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word…
24 A dispute also arose among [the disciples] as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But [Jesus] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

28 “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; 29 and I confer on you, just as My Father has conferred on Me, a kingdom, 30 so 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, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” 33 And [Simon Peter] said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death!” 34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

PASTOR BEN’S SERMON
Peter is weaker than he thinks.

The disciples are arguing amongst themselves as to which of them is greatest – having the greatest gifts, being the most valuable to Jesus, … – but the Lord interrupts them to let them know how weak they really are: That each of them will have turned their backs on Him by the end of that very same day.

Notice that the Lord doesn’t criticize them or berate them for their coming failures? No. Weakness is the human condition. And all kinds of weaknesses are acknowledged everywhere across the New Testament.

Jesus told His disciples that, in contrast to the spirit, the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38). Paul said that those who are poor are weak (Acts 20:35). The Corinthian Christians were weak in social status (1 Corinthians 1:26–27). Romans tells us that Jesus died for us while we were still weak, that is, while we were ungodly and lacked any possibility of deserving any kind of good (Romans 5:8). And we see that we are also often weak when we pray, lacking the words, lacking the know-how (Romans 8:26). And some Christians are spoken of as being weak because they judge others (Romans 14:1–4). Add to this the physical weaknesses Paul seems to speak of in different places (ie. 2 Corinthians 10:10), and his “thorn in the flesh” – whatever kind of weakness that was (2 Corinthians 12:7), and all the different types of troubles we can experience and find ourselves helpless – weak – in the face of (2 Corinthians 12:10).

If there were one broad explanation for weakness, it seems that it would be to lack: Being weak means we don’t have what it takes; we’re not sovereign, we’re not all-knowing, we’re not invincible; we’re not in control, we can’t be everywhere at once, and we can so very easily be stopped from doing the things we want to do and even be stopped from doing the things we feel God has called us to do…

If the Lord seems to so completely understand how weak we are – how lacking we are – then there must be a purpose for such weaknesses? There must be a goal or an aim for why our weaknesses exist, and why times of weakness come? Why insults, hardships, persecutions, calamities, troubles? Why can’t I find a job? Why does my dad have cancer? Why can’t I have children? Why do I have no friends? Why is nothing working in my life? Doesn’t God see? Doesn’t God care?
First, let’s remember that, as we’ve said, the Lord Jesus understands that we are weak: He understands our weaknesses. The Letter To the Hebrews makes clear that Jesus faced all the same types of weakness and times of weakness and lack that we do, the difference is that during such times Jesus didn’t give in to sin. So, the Lord’s not surprised by our what we can’t do and what we can’t be, He doesn’t condemn us for being weak: He’s experienced every single human weakness Himself. He just wants us to be like Him when we face weak times, and not give in to sin.

Because Satan wants to use times of weakness in our lives to destroy us and to destroy everything around us. Which is why it is OK to pray for relief when we’re feeling weak. After all, God doesn’t delight in our suffering! But Satan does and so he must be resisted.

That being said, God does have a purpose over and through Satan’s harassment in our times of weakness: The Lord’s seeking to develop our humility. Not the kind of humility that gets people saying they’re not good at something when they clearly are, but the kind of humility that reminds us Christian folk we need God. Peter was in danger of pride and becoming all puffed up with himself – “Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death!” – and so God took steps to keep him humble: “Peter, the [rooster] will not crow this day until you have denied three times that you know Me.”
Our God and Father – the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – thinks our being humble – knowing our need for Him – is more important than our being comfortable. Clearly, He finds our being humble – our knowing our need for Him – more important than our convenience and our being free from pain. God will give us a mountain top experience in Paradise, and then bring us through anguish of soul to protect us from thinking that we have risen above the need for total reliance on His grace. So His purpose in our times of weakness is our humility and lowliness and living in total reliance on Him.
Of course, the Father is also seeking to draw attention to the grace and power of His Son through our weaknesses. And sometimes He does that by granting us supernatural ability by the Holy Spirit or by miraculously delivering us from our troubles and trials! But sometimes He does that by leaving us in our weaknesses, but giving us what we need to endure and even rejoice in our tribulations. (We need to let God be God here. If he wills to show the perfection of Jesus’ power in our weakness instead of by our escape from weakness, then we need to trust that He knows best. Hebrews 11 is a good guide here. It says that by faith some escaped the edge of the sword (v. 34) and by faith some were killed by the sword (v. 37). By faith some stopped the mouths of lions, and by faith others were sawn in two. By faith some were mighty in war, and by faith others suffered chains and imprisonment.)

It is critical to remember the truth of God’s sovereign grace when we are weak in the face of hardships and calamity. We must remember that God is in control of Satan, of kings and prime ministers and dictators, of bosses and employees, of husbands and wives, of kids and parents, of neighbors and coworkers and friends… Nothing can happen to the sons and daughters of God – those trusting in and following Jesus Christ – that God does not design with infinite skill and infinite love for our good and His glory. (Let me say that again: Nothing can happen to the sons and daughters of God – those trusting in and following Jesus Christ – that God does not design with infinite skill and infinite love for our good and His glory.)

(With our reading this past week in mind, it’s interesting to me that, the Lord Jesus, facing His Own greatest time of weakness and hardship and suffering – the days leading up to the cross – that He spent His time attending Worship Services (as we see Him always in the Temple and celebrating the Passover), He spent His time in the Word (as we see Him quoting Scripture, correcting misunderstandings, and teaching truth), He spent His time in prayer (as we see Him going off alone, and agonizing in the garden), and, He spent His time serving others and giving God the glory for it!
(So, I am hoping that 2017 will be a year for us – sons and daughters of God on account of our trust in and following of Jesus Christ – where each of us grows more faithful and steadfast in Worship, more committed to Bible-reading and application, more practiced in disciplined and informal prayer, and more active in serving each other and those around us and giving God the glory for it!)

But, alongside that, and with Peter and the other Eleven in mind, I hope, in 2017, that each of us will also give attention and effort to finding our weaknesses and maximizing their God-given purpose. That is, I hope we’ll stop complaining when we find ourselves in times of weakness, those trouble that we can’t do anything about. I hope we’ll stop complaining – to God and to the people around us – about our shortcomings, about our temptations, about what we have or what we don’t have, about all that we’re no good at, etc… Instead, I hope we’ll look for ways to turn our times of weakness into times for showing those around us how much we trust in Christ to give us what we need and get us through. And I hope we’ll look for ways to turn our weaknesses themselves into ways we can draw people’s attention to the strengths of Jesus Christ! That is, because you can’t do this, that, or some other thing, then what has such a weakness put you in the unique position of being able to do for Him? Because you can’t read lots of books quickly and easily, can you read God’s book deeply and live it more fully? Because you can’t be very active, can you pray more or study and be able to teach others or have a phone-calling or letter-writing or email-sending ministry? Because you can’t have kids of your own or because your kids are out of the house and you miss them terribly, can you be a mom or dad to other people’s kids, serving in the Nursery or Sunday School or Youth Group or some other ways? …

The Bible makes clear that deepest need you and I have when we are weak and facing troubles is not quick relief, but the confidence that what is happening to us is part of God’s greatest purposes in the universe: Growing our humility, the heart-felt knowledge that we need God very badly; and, drawing people’s attention to the grace and power of Jesus Christ—the grace and power that bore God the Son to the cross and kept Him there until God’s work of love was done.
These are what God is building into our lives through times of weakness and our weaknesses…

Let’s sing our praises!
Let’s stand for The Doxology…