[0:00] We acknowledge thine own sovereignty over us, that thou art the one who ruleth in heaven and on earth, and that our times are in thine own hands.
[0:14] And we give thee thanks, O Lord, that this day that thou did plant a desire in our hearts to come together in a place of worship, to acknowledge thee as our God, as our creator redeemer through thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[0:34] We give thee thanks that we are enabled to follow the example of thy Son, who in the days when he was on earth on the Lord's day attended the synagogue.
[0:47] And so we have come together to this place this day, seeking to worship thee, to honour thy name. And we pray, O Lord, that as we do come in this act of worship, that thou would grant us the grace to humble ourselves and to acknowledge our sinnership, to acknowledge that we do sin in thought, in word and in deed.
[1:13] But blessed be thy name for the provision that thou hast made for sinners such as we are, in and through thy Son, that he is the fountain that has been opened for sin and for uncleanness.
[1:26] And that today we can draw near to that fountain by faith, and draw from that fountain and receive the cleansing that we stand in need of.
[1:37] O Lord, we give thanks that that fellowship and communion that was broken by sin between ourselves and thee can now be restored to us through thy Son.
[1:54] And we give thanks, O Lord, for all the tokens of thy goodness and kindness that thou doth abundantly outpour upon us every day in things that are temporal, as well as in things that are spiritual.
[2:09] We give thee thanks for thy word. And we pray, O Lord, that as we come to read thy word and reflect upon thy word, that it may be applied to us by thy Holy Spirit.
[2:21] Open our hearts to receive it. May it be lodged in our hearts and bring forth evidence in our lives to the glory of thine own name.
[2:33] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless our community, that thou would bless every home and every family. Thou knowest their needs. And we give thanks that out of the riches of thine own grace, that thou art able to meet with the need of everyone.
[2:50] O Lord, we pray that the dew of heaven would fall upon us today, upon this barren land, that the seed of the gospel may be warded by the dew of heaven, so that it will bring forth fruit in the lives of many among us.
[3:09] O Lord, we pray that thou would come in a day of thine own power in bringing days of revival within thy church and days of awakening among those who are still dead in trespasses and in sin.
[3:24] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless thy word not only among ourselves as a community, but throughout our islands and throughout our land, and even unto the ends of the earth.
[3:37] We pray that thy word may go forth in the power and demonstration of thine own spirit, in convicting and converting, and in the building of thine own church.
[3:48] We remember today those who are ill and seek that thine healing hand would be upon them. Remember those who have been bereft of loved ones, who are mourning and grieving in their hearts.
[4:03] We pray that thine own comfort may be their portion today. We pray, O Lord, for the careless and the indifferent to the claims of thy word, and seek that it may please thee, O Lord, to draw near to them, to convict them of their lostness, to convict them of their great need, and the sufficiency of Christ to meet with that need.
[4:27] We pray for all the sermons of the cross this day who go forth proclaiming the gospel. And we pray that the unction of thine own spirit may be upon them, that they will be enabled with all boldness and confidence to proclaim thy word, knowing that thy word will not return unto thee void.
[4:47] We pray, O Lord, that thou would protect us the time that we are together this morning, for we know that there are many things that could distract our minds away.
[5:01] O Lord, even the burdens that may lie heavy upon our heart. We pray, O Lord, that our minds may be focused upon thee, that we may see the glory of the incarnate word through the written word, so that our hearts may rejoice this day.
[5:21] We give thee thanks for sending thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for delivering you up to the cross, that he was the one who took what our sins deserved upon him in his own body on the cross, that he died and was buried, and that he rose again and has ascended to thine own right hand.
[5:40] We give thee thanks for his continual ministry there in the intercession that he makes on behalf of those given to him by thee in the covenant of redemption, those whom he has purchased through his blood.
[5:53] We give thee thanks for the great promise that he will return at thine own appointed time, that he shall come to and gather his people and to bring them to be with himself forevermore.
[6:05] We pray, O Lord, that thou would continue with us now as we wait upon thee and forgive us for all our sins and all that we ask is in Jesus' name and for his sake.
[6:17] Amen. We shall read the word of God as we find it in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, and at verse 31.
[6:37] And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you a sweet. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
[6:51] And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before that thou shalt Christ deny that thou knowest me.
[7:08] And he said unto them, when I sent you without purse and script and shoes, like ye anything, and they said nothing. Then said he unto them, but now he that hath a purse, take it, and likewise is script, and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
[7:26] For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me. And he was reckoned among the transgressors, for the things concerning me have an end.
[7:38] And they said, Lord, behold, there are two swords. And he said unto them, it is enough. And he came out and went as he want to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples also followed him.
[7:50] And when he was at the place, he said unto them, pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from above a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.
[8:05] Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, threatening him. And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly.
[8:16] And his weight was, as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow.
[8:28] And said unto them, why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. And while he yet spake, behold, a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
[8:44] But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss? And they which were about him saw what would follow. They said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
[8:56] And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answering and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
[9:08] Then Jesus said unto the chief priests and captains of the temple, and the elders which were come to him, Be ye come out against a thief with swords and staves. When I was daily with you in the temple, he stretched forth no hands against me, but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
[9:27] Then they took him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
[9:41] But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
[9:53] And after a little while, another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying, Of our truth, this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean.
[10:10] And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock grew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me Christ.
[10:27] And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. And the men that held Jesus, mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
[10:41] And many other things, blasphemously, spake they against him. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people, and the chief priests, and the scribes, came together, and led them into their counsel, saying, Art thou the Christ?
[10:55] Tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe. And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of Man sit on the right hand of the power of God.
[11:10] Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. And they said, What need we any further witnesses? For we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.
[11:24] May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word. And now seeking the Lord's help and blessing, let us turn again to verse 31.
[11:37] And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.
[11:52] And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. At the beginning of the chapter, we are told, now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.
[12:11] And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him, that is Jesus, for they feared the people. This was to be the most important week in the history of the world.
[12:26] And it was to be the most important Passover feast. Jesus had come to the city of Jerusalem and before he entered the city, he looked down upon the city and he wept.
[12:41] And when he entered the city, he went into the temple and the next day he cleansed the temple of its spiritual impurity. Of course, this would have been a busy time in Jerusalem.
[12:54] Large crowds would have come to the city to celebrate the Passover. Yet, while large crowds were descending upon the city to keep the religious feast of Passover and unleavened bread, the religious leaders, the chief priests and the scribes were trying to conceive a plan of how they might kill Jesus.
[13:20] But we are told that they feared the people because Jesus was much too popular for them to do anything to him in public.
[13:32] They were supposed to be getting ready for Passover for this was an important time when the covenant people of God would be praising God for delivering his people from bondage and preparing to offer a sacrificial lamb for their sins.
[13:49] But instead, what we find is that they were scheming and plotting on how to destroy Jesus. Their dilemma was solved from an unexpected such from one of Jesus' own disciples.
[14:06] For we are told, then entered Satan into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went to sway and communed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray him unto them.
[14:23] And they were glad and covenanted to give him money. And he promised and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.
[14:33] Judas Iscariot solved the main problem that confronted the religious leaders. For Judas could give them the inside information that they needed to capture Jesus when no one was around.
[14:53] Luke says to us that the religious leaders were glad. Here we have men giving over to their own evil desires and we were happy to commit the greatest crime in the history of the world.
[15:09] But what about Judas? Well I do not want to say too much about Judas since he is not our focus today but I think it is worth our time just to mention a few things.
[15:23] Judas was not always a traitor. He became a traitor. But he was not so from the beginning. We are not told how Jesus and Judas met.
[15:36] We are not told anything about his family in the Gospels except that his father's name was Simon. We are told nothing about his background or his life before he became a disciple.
[15:50] He was the only one of the disciples who did not come from Galilee but he came from a small town in the south of Judea. There is no doubt that Judas began to follow Jesus.
[16:06] He became a loyal friend of Jesus and the disciples. He travelled around with Jesus. He knew Jesus in a very intimate way.
[16:17] He knew his physical appearance, what Jesus looked like. He felt his touch when Jesus washed his feet in the upper room. they trusted him sufficiently to make him the treasurer of the group.
[16:32] He was engaged in service for the Lord. He went out along with the other disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God and he did his work as good as the rest of the disciples.
[16:47] The ministry of the disciples like that of Jesus was accompanied with signs and miraculous healing and so on. And one reason for this was to confirm that their message was from God.
[17:00] And there is no reason for us today to doubt that Judas performed the miracles and that he came back like the rest of the disciples with the same excited report.
[17:13] However, Judas Iscariot was an unrepented sinner preaching repentance. He was a man with the gospel in his mouth but the world in his heart.
[17:32] Judas heard the message. He saw the miracles and nothing to say that he did not perform miracles himself. He listened to the teachings. He watched the life of Jesus Christ and he became involved as we have just noted with the work of the gospel along with the other disciples and yet it never had any profound effect upon him.
[17:58] He remained a hardened unrepentant sinner. And Judas was never suspected. Outwardly Judas looked like a believer.
[18:10] Outwardly Judas looked like all the other disciples. How then may we explain Judas Iscariot? Of course a full explanation is not possible.
[18:25] Judas had chosen to follow Jesus and he was called and chosen by Jesus as one of the disciples. However his role of betrayal was prophesied in the Old Testament in Psalm 41 verse 9 we read And here in Luke we are told Judas surnamed Iscariot.
[19:04] Judas was not simply a person who was possessed by a demon but he was possessed by Satan himself. From the very beginning of time from the very beginning of time Satan has tried to frustrate the redemptive plan of God.
[19:31] From the very beginning from the time that Satan succeeded at tempting Adam and his wife into sin and God pronouncing the promise of a saviour Satan has been out to try and destroy God's redemptive plan for his people.
[19:49] He tempted Cain to kill his brother Abel but God preserved his holy line through Seth. There came a time when God saw the wickedness of men was great in the earth and that every imagination of the heart was only evil continually and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart and the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air for it repented me that I have made them and God sent a flood to destroy the earth but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and the holy line was preserved through Noah Satan tempted Abraham to produce his own son who was not the son of promise but God preserved his holy line through
[20:52] Isaac God's covenant people ended up in bondage in Egypt and Satan tempted Pharaoh to put all Israel's sons to death in the river Nile but God saved his people and he saved his people through Moses eventually the children of Israel went into captivity but God preserved a righteous remnant and eventually the saviour was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem as Paul writes to the Galatians he says but when the fullness of the time was come God sent forth a son made of a woman made under the law and Satan tried to kill him by tempting Herod to slaughter all the baby boys in Bethlehem eventually Satan took the conflict right to Jesus and three times in the wilderness he tempted the son of God into sin
[21:58] Luke records for us that after Jesus resisted Satan in the wilderness that the devil when he attended all the temptation departed from him for a season the devil Satan is out to try and frustrate the redemptive plan of God for sinners in verse 7 here we read then came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed and he sent Peter and John saying go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat now what I want us to notice here that despite all the commotion of the religious leaders of the chief priests and the scribes and even the conspiracy of Judas Iscariot to note that Jesus nevertheless was in complete control it wasn't the chief priests and the scribes and Judas
[23:03] Iscariot that was in control Jesus was in complete control he was in full control of everything leading up to the cross and to the crucifixion Jesus was determined that he would eat this one meal with his disciples he was determined that he would institute the Lord's supper and even at the table he manifested that he was in full control his thoughts were centred upon the cross his thoughts were centred upon his death and he knew that he was about to be betrayed because he said but behold the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table and truly the son of man goeth as it was determined but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed what Jesus said about his betrayal immediately brought a commotion among the disciples and they began to inquire among themselves which of them it was that should do this thing but soon very very soon we are told that there was also a strife among them which of them should be accounted the greatest this was not the first time that such an argument had arisen among the disciples the whole argument was shockingly inappropriate and it must have filled them with shame when they would reflect upon their behaviour afterwards but turning to Peter and the other disciples he warned them he said
[24:51] Simon Simon behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat when Jesus said Satan has desired to have you he used the plural form of the pronoun you rather than saying you Peter he was saying you all disciples you see Satan wanted more than Judas and he wanted more than even Peter he wanted all the disciples of Christ Paul reminds us of the nature of the Christian conflict in the world in Ephesians chapter 6 he writes for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
[25:52] God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having all to stand Jesus says Satan hath desired to have you here is a request from Satan for all the disciples and this gives us an insight of what we may be unaware of something that is taking place in the spiritual realm an instance of this is given to us in the experience of God's servant job and in the book that bears his name what we are reminded here of is that each one of us is scrutinised by Satan we have to remember that Satan studies each one of us he knows our weak points better than we know ourselves he knows as well as our strong points although he is not all knowing that belongs only to
[26:59] God but he knows more about me and you than we ever dare to think the Bible calls Satan the accuser of the brethren and when it comes to the disciples of Jesus when it comes to me and you there can be a lot of accusations that he can make Satan wanted to sift the disciples like a farmer sifts his wheat in other words he wanted to toss them in the air the way a farmer tosses his grain to separate the wheat from the chaff but why sift the disciples now well this is a convenient time the disciples are found in such confusion Jesus has just told them that he is about to leave them he tells them that he is going to be put to death they are in great confusion and he already has one of the disciples
[28:11] Judas Iscariot in his clutches and now he aims to get the next leading disciple he aims to get the spokesperson of the disciples if only he could get him he could destroy them all Satan knew the influence that Peter had over the other disciples he knew that Peter was the spokesperson for the disciples for instance after the resurrection when they went to Galilee Peter went fishing and we find that the rest followed Peter had a great influence among the disciples and although Jesus warned them all there was here a particular emphasis on Simon Peter so Jesus repeated Simon's name twice for emphasis he was saying something that Simon Peter desperately needed to hear
[29:15] Simon Simon behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not and when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren but Peter being Peter would have none of it Lord he says I am ready to go with you both into prison and to death we may be liable to admire his courage but unfortunately his overconfidence puts him into the grasp of Satan in his self confidence he announced that he was ready and prepared to face any danger he is more or less saying I do not know about the others I do not know about Andrew and James and
[30:16] John I do not know about them but I know Jesus that you can count on me because I am ready both to go to prison and to death for thee you can count on me I don't know about the rest and then Jesus turned and he said to Peter I tell thee I am telling you I'm telling thee Peter the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me now if we go back to the place where Peter confessed Jesus to be the son of God and Caesarea Philippi before they made their journey down to Jerusalem we remember how Jesus opened his heart to them speaking of his death and
[31:16] Peter immediately began to interfere with Jesus plan for the cross and he had to be rebuked by Jesus and there is a trait of mannerism that we often find in Peter you see he is not listening to the Lord when the Lord there at Caesarea Philippi was opening his heart telling him about what was going to happen to him at Jerusalem Peter was not prepared to listen so on the Mount of Transfiguration they were given a mild rebuke from heaven when the voice said hear ye him behold this is my son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him they were to listen to the words of Jesus you see Peter's confidence was entirely misplaced he was confident in himself rather than in the
[32:19] Lord rather than asking the Lord for more strength he felt already prepared to meet any danger that would come his way when the Lord was captured we are told and one of them smote the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear not surprisingly we are told in the gospel of John that it was Simon Peter who hastily cut off the ear but how quickly the situation changed we are told that when they took Jesus from outside the garden of Gethsemane that they led him and brought him into the high priest's house and Peter followed afar off this was not merely a physical distance but it was also becoming a spiritual distance as well when we are not listening to the Lord although we may follow the
[33:23] Lord yet we are putting a spiritual distance between ourselves and the Lord and that spiritual distance often begins with fewer spiritual devotions less time praying less time reading the word of God hardly any fellowship with God's people we follow afar off and we are told when the rich the high priest's house that Peter sat without and the gospel of Matthew records for us now Peter sat without in the palace and a damsel came unto him saying thou also was with Jesus of Galilee but he denied them all saying I know not what thou sayest well this was his first denial and then we find him according to the gospels sitting around the fire and who was around the fire with him were the very enemies of
[34:32] Jesus and here he is sitting around the fire with the enemies of Jesus he has moved from the door to the fire and when they had kindle a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down together Peter sat down among them how different he is to the portion depicted in Psalm 1 blessed is the man that walk not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful and while Peter here is around the fire with the enemies of Jesus he is challenged again but a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire and earnestly looked upon him and said this man was also with him and he denied him saying woman I know him not this was his second denial he is made to feel uncomfortable so he makes his way to the porch but as he is making his way the cock crows for the first time in the gospel of
[35:51] Mark chapter 14 verse 30 we read that Jesus said verily I say unto thee that this day even in this night before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice and in verse 68 but he denied saying I know not neither understand I what thou say and he went out in the porch and the cock crew we have that information given to us only in the gospel of Mark now what is interesting and significant about that is that it is recorded for us only in the gospel of Mark for we are told that there is every possibility that Mark received his gospel from Peter that the gospel of Mark is really the gospel of Peter that Mark received his gospel from
[36:53] Peter did Peter hear the cock crow the first time he must have because he told Mark about it and Mark has recorded that in his gospel but the sad thing is this that he must have heard it but it made no impression whatsoever upon him then we have his third denial now but the space of one hour after another confidently affirming of a truth this fellow also was with him for he is a Galilean and Peter said man I know not what thou sayest and immediately while he had spake the cock grew and the Lord turned and looked upon Peter and Peter remembered the word of the Lord how he had said unto him behold the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice we are told in other of the gospels that he denied the
[38:00] Lord his third time with curses and swearing but there was something extra and that is that this time the Lord looked upon Peter and Peter remembered the word of the Lord wherever they were positioned the eye of Peter and the eye of the Lord met and Peter remembered the word of the Lord did Peter remember that look that Jesus gave him when he was introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew that's recorded for us in John's gospel chapter one when Jesus beheld him that's when Jesus wasn't a glance he looked earnestly at Peter and he said thou art Simon the son of Jonah thou shalt because he of us which is interpretation a stone you know a look can speak many things
[39:05] I think that contained within that look was this Peter I know what you have done I know what has happened to you I know Peter what you have just done and with just that look there was no words just a look Peter was now broken and he went out and he wept bitterly nevertheless although Peter fell into sin and denied the Lord he did not fall away from his faith after Jesus warned Peter he gave him this great promise but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not and when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren it is interesting that he did not pray that
[40:06] Satan would leave Peter alone he did not pray that Peter would have an easy life with one spiritual success after another instead he prayed that his faith would not fail Spurgeon once said that faith is the point of contact between the believing soul and the living Christ take away faith and you have nothing remember that great chapter in the letter to the Hebrews chapter 11 where it is said who through faith abdued kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained promises stopped the mouths of lions quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong walked valiant in fight turned to flight the armies of the aliens women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection again says wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
[41:52] God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them you know my Christian friend maybe that there's a point here that we may overlook so often or think so little about and that is Christ's present ministry at the right hand of the father we often speak and reflect and talk about the cross the death of Christ and that is important but sometimes we overlook his present ministry at the right hand of the father his intercession his intercession for us because the accuser of the brethren stands before God every moment accusing the believer but there is one who is there interceding I pray that thy faith fail not you know the
[43:01] Lord does not want us to understand all his dealings with us what the Lord requires of us is that we trust him we may not understand all his dealings with us in time yet what he requires for us is not that we understand his dealings with us but that we continue to put our trust in him that he knoweth what he is doing he is purifying us he is preparing us and we have to put our trust in him we pass put our trust in him that our faith in him will not fail but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not there are many ways by which we can deny
[44:07] Jesus Christ it is possible to deny him by explicit and forthright denial and that is the kind of denial that we have here with Peter Peter answers immediately that he knew not Christ many are afraid to be affirming for God in their faith because of weakness and because of fear remember this was a dangerous time to be known as a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ it was a very dangerous time to show any loyalty to Jesus Christ we must remember that today you may be challenged in so many ways do you believe in the Bible do you believe in the afterlife do you believe in heaven and hell do you believe in going to hear the gospel are you a Christian and we may answer all these challenges in a negative way all because of weakness and fear or the fear of being laughed at or being mocked it is also possible to deny
[45:23] Christ by our silence when we hear people taking the name of Christ in vain it is so easy for us to say nothing it is so easy for us not to check them or say anything to them and the fact is sadly that we can justify ourselves in that matter with such excuses as well it is not my business well I am not responsible for that person or the person may reaction may be unfaire I may lose my popularity and so on there are many ways by which we can deny Christ in his first letter Peter chapter 5 writes be sober be vigilant because you adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour when thou art converted when thou art restored
[46:35] Peter strengthen thy brethren so he writes two epistles to us and in this first one he says be sober be vigilant be always watchful because you adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour now as we watch nature programmes on television and we see the lion and his hunting skills the poor prey thinking he is not in danger grazing on the grass and the lion is so subtle and he looks for the opportune moment he looks for some carelessness on the part of the prey or some weakness in the herd or he looks for simple neglect and when these come together or whether it's one of them he takes his prey he is subtle he looks for those opportune moments and you know the devil
[47:46] Satan is just as subtle and he looks for these opportune moments when we may become careless he pounces in when we become weak he pounces in when we are neglectful he pounces in and he takes us as his prey oh Peter learnt the lesson and now he is writing to us and he is writing in order to make us aware of the danger that we are in he is writing in order to instruct us he is writing in order to strengthen us and he says be watchful I thought that I could do all things but I came to realise that I was weak that I was weak in the place where I thought I was strong I was weak
[48:47] I said I would go to prison and to death and yet a little maid came and I denied my lord and not only denied my lord but I was swearing and cursing denying my lord so he says be sober be vigilant because the devil as a roaring lion walketh about he's walking about seeking whom he may devour he's warning me and you but the lord's intercession I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not may we be thankful today for the lord's present ministry in the intercession that he makes for us at the right hand of the father for we live in a world we are moving in the world we are living in the place of temptations we are living in the place where the enemy of our soul sets snares before us and sadly we fall into them and we are taken by them but there is an intercessor who is praying that our faith fail not that that place of contact between the believer and
[50:11] Christ will not fail may the Lord bless our thoughts let us pray eternal endeavor blessed Lord we acknowledge that in so many ways we deny thee but blessed be thy name that thou art the one who knows us thou art the one who knows our desires our thoughts there is nothing hidden from thee and we give thanks oh Lord for the continual ministry that is going on at the right hand of the father as thou doth minister in the intercession that thou doth make on behalf of thy people and that the way may stumble and fall that the intercessor is there for us that our faith will not fail that that point of contact between our soul and thee shall not fail we come oh
[51:13] Lord today and we acknowledge our sins but we give thanks that the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from all our sins that we can be restored into that fellowship and communion with thee and that we can be held in that communion and fellowship only through our Lord Jesus Christ we ask oh Lord that thou would bless each one of us that thou would meet with each one of us at our point of need today and now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever more Amen