April 21, 2021: A Strong Will Person Is Admired in the World's Eyes, In the Eyes of Jesus It Is Not.

In the Book of Luke, the story of Peter's denial has been shared many times in church messages. But I would like to look a little deeper into the Apostle Peter's denial of his Lord.

Think of that very moment when Peter’s eyes caught Jesus’ eyes from across the courtyard.

Luke 22: 61-62 (NKJV)

And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

What do you think must have gone through Peter’s mind before he went away and cried bitterly? What was it that finally broke Peter down to the very core of his being?

Peter denied his Lord three times, and then the Lord looked upon him; and that look of Jesus broke the heart of Peter, and all at once there opened before him the terrible sin that he had committed, the terrible failure that had come, and the depth into which he had fallen, and "Peter went out and wept bitterly".

Can you imagine what that repentance must have felt like, into what depth of humiliation Peter sank into? During the following hours of that night, and the next day, when he saw Christ crucified and buried, and the next day, the Sabbath, in what hopeless despair and shame he must have spent that day!

Our own "salvation to absolute surrender" moment must come to everyone in a similar way. We must come to recognize the depravity of our sinful nature. We have a choice in our life...We must come to "deny self" or "deny Christ". There are no other choices!

Each one of us comes to "absolute surrender" in one's life. But make no mistake, we all must choose at some point. It took Peter three years to finally recognize his selfish and sinful nature after waking with his Lord. Many of us come to recognize our "selfish sinful nature" differently...Some at the time of our salvation, some only a short time after receiving the Lord into their hearts, and others, like myself, thirty-five years.

PERSONNAL COMMENT:

But I believe we all must come to recognize our "strong self-will" we struggle with daily in our lives. Not until we come to realize that we are sinful by nature, down to the very core of who we are...It is then when we recognize how selfish we are, as Peter did. It is then and only then can we come to "absolute surrender" to our Lord, and weep bitterly of this sinful nature and then find our true rest and peace with our Lord. It is only through the eyes of my Lord, Jesus, that I want to be admired by, not the world's.